ROSEAU, Dominica – The Electoral Office (EO) has called on Dominicans to reject a digital online voters list that is being circulated here as the island prepares to elect a new government on December 6.
EO public relations office, Elias Dupuis, said the list which is being circulated on social media platforms, is illegitimate and that the Electoral Office does not publish, sell or release digital copies of the register of electors for any reason.
“Despite this, claims by entities responsible for the digital list have sought to pass this unauthorised list as purporting to be the same as the list of electors and the Electoral office strongly discourages persons from disseminating it or referencing it as a source of information.
‘This tainted list is in no affiliated with the Electoral Office or any of its systems or processes. The public is reminded that physical copies of the list of electors produced by the Electoral Office for publication or for sale are the only legitimate source of elector information available in the Commonwealth of Dominica,” said Dupuis.
He said that the Electoral Office is the only entity empowered by the Registration of Electors Act “to collect, guard and produce elector information and the production and publishing of these lists done multiple times per year”.
He said as required by law, lists are created periodically and published in each polling district and are also made available at the homes of registering and assistant registering officers, the library and the Electoral Office.
“For the sake of clarity the information contained in this digital list was not issued by our systems and persons should not be afraid that their names do not appear on it,” Dupuis said, adding that anyone wanting to ensure his or her name is on the list should visit the appropriate and legal areas where the lists are posted.
“Persons who have recently registered, meaning between the end of September 2019 and November 6, 2019, the day the writs were issued by the President with respect to the upcoming general elections on December 6 are to check the supplementary list for their names. This list is due to be published in all polling districts later this week,” he added.
Voters will go to the polls on December 6 to elect between representatives from the ruling Dominica labour Party (DLP) and the main opposition United Workers Party (UWP) for control of the 21-seat Parliament.
In the 2014 general election, the DLP won 15 of the 21 seats. (CMC)
