As Saint Lucia edges towards its next general election, fresh claims of voter list tampering have reignited debate over the integrity of the island’s electoral system.
House Speaker Claudius Francis wants tighter checks. An opposition figure warns of a “silently brewing coup”.
The controversy stems from allegations by United Workers Party candidate Elisha Norbert, who claims that names of living party supporters were wrongly listed among the deceased. The Electoral Department has denied the assertion, with Chief Elections Officer Herman St Helen citing its verification process involving funeral homes and obituaries.
Still, the dispute has cast fresh scrutiny on Saint Lucia’s voter verification system, with Francis urging changes based on his own experience of mistaken identity.
Francis called into Shelton Daniel’s afternoon show last week to advocate for better death verification. He recounted a personal experience where his name and lifestyle details matched those of other men, raising the risk of mistaken identity when relying solely on death certificates.
He also acknowledged his own failed attempt to implement a foolproof verification system while he was Electoral Commissioner, deeming the task “complex”. Prior to elections in 2001, he also publicly sounded an alarm over the need for election observers in Saint Lucia.
Saint Lucia’s legislation explicitly defines election procedures and a number of instances of voter fraud.
A name must be deleted from the electoral list when an individual dies, but a methodology is not explicitly identified.
Two months ago, a well-known anonymous blog accused several politically affiliated public figures of paying voters, though no evidence was provided. The claims circulated widely across social media, but no signs of formal investigation were immediately apparent.
The country’s laws criminalise “bribery”, “treating”, “undue influence”, and “personation”. Treating refers to the giving of any provision to an individual “for the purpose of corruptly influencing that person”. All the acts, if proven, could lead to a person losing voting rights for seven years, as well as their ability to be elected a member of parliament.
Ballot tampering, including forging and counterfeits, wrongful ballot box placement, its removal or destruction, or submitting a ballot while unregistered, can also lead to fines of up to $1 000 and a year in prison.
Invitations extended to St Helen for an interview on fraud prevention methods went unanswered, despite his on-air pledge to “start meeting with the media to correct some of the misconceptions [or] the misinformation that is being thrown about”.
Saint Lucia’s next general election is expected to be called soon.
