SXMElections.com

ST. EUSTATIUS--Complaints about 900 voting cards being returned, complaints to the United Nations (UN), and complaints filed by Island Council members about the voters list being not correct have surfaced since the results of the constitutional referendum held on St. Eustatius on December 17, 2014, were announced.

Island Governor Gerald Berkel said that while there are items that can and will be improved, he was "generally pleased" that the technical organization of the referendum occurred in compliance with all relevant existing legislation regarding transparency and civil participation.

Brighter Path Foundation has started drafting a list on which all complaints are compiled. These complaints are to be handed over to the UN observers, who were present at the referendum, since complaints have to be made in writing.

Objections

The objections were voiced during a meeting held on December 19, 2014, at which Governor Berkel announced the final vote count. People said that the registry was not accurate, as deceased people's names had remained on the list and voting cards for next year's Island Council election were included.

One of the most discussed issues was the return of 900 voting cards to the Civil Registry (Census Office) by the postal service, as confirmed by a source, who works at the Post Office. It is not clear why these were not available from the Civil Registry to those who did not receive them, but it is said there was also a delay in the Post Office returning the voting cards to the Civil Registry.

Many people said they were turned away from the Voting Bureau, because they were not in possession of a voting card and had not been able to get one at the census office.

At the meeting, head of the Voting Bureau Governor Berkel had said that the results remained more or less as they were during the initial vote count. The count of eligible voters was 2,546 and 1,157 votes were cast on Election Day, with one vote added after the first count. There were four blank votes and 12 invalid votes. One person cast the sample ballot in the box and this was also invalid, according to Berkel.

Threshold

With 1,157 votes cast, the 60-per-cent threshold was not reached. In total, 45.5 per cent of the people on the voting list voted. Many voters, though, were not satisfied with the number of voters on the voting list, feeling that there were inaccuracies with the list and demanded to have the registry reviewed.

One of the questions being posed was how can the number of eligible voters be set at 2,546 when there were deceased individuals on this list and voting cards for the 2015 election were included.

Since one member of St. Eustatius Empowerment Party (STEP) said he had proof that there were dead people's names on the list, as the voting card was delivered to the deceased's former residence, further inaccuracies were said to be likely.

A source told The Daily Herald that a number of people had suspicions about the role of the Post Office. "The majority of the Post Office staff are Democratic Party ((DP)) members. The (DP) was openly against the referendum, and wanted to maintain the status quo. Reasons as to why the ballots could not be delivered were given as the fact that only initials and last names were mentioned, despite a full address being given; the fact that the Post Office would not deliver to homes without letter boxes, and the fact that people were not allowed to collect their undelivered ballots from the Post Office. All these rules have never applied in Statia before."

The source continues: "Aside from that, the lists were inaccurate. There were a large number of medical students, whose names appeared on the list. Also deceased people's names had never been removed. We believe the discrepancy totals more than 600 people."

During the December 19, 2014, meeting, Island Councilman Reuben Merkman requested a formal report concerning this issue to the Governor, but Berkel explained that until there is an official (written) complaint, the claim of inaccuracy would not be reviewed by him.

STEP-Councilman Franklin Brown, who was off-island, but in a conversation with The Daily Herald said he, would take the issues up on his return to the island. During the meeting, the two UN observers were present and spoke of persons having made complaints to them as well.

List of complaints

Brighter Path is compiling a list of complaints with regard to the referendum. They can be contacted through Facebook and one of its members, Xiomara Balentina, will be conducting interviews at Lyn's Dream Bakery until today, Friday, from 11:00am-1:00pm. Statement forms can be obtained from the bakery as well.

Governor Berkel said the official voters list contained 2,546 eligible votes, as a result 2,546 voting cards were sent to the Post Office. Of the voting cards delivered to the Post Office, approximately 30 per cent were returned. "This is not usual as we have for years been working on a review of the voters list. As is the case in all Dutch territories, a person leaving is required to "write out" of the local registry.

We have noticed regularly that persons leaving and going to territories that do not require them to "write in" often forgo the procedure, resulting in inaccuracy regarding the persons, who are registered as residing on the island. The law does not allow us to simply remove these persons without following specific procedural steps to ensure that persons are not removed incorrectly. While the process is ongoing, as mentioned earlier, it is time consuming and is a continuous process as we encounter new cases regularly."

With regard to the fact that initials were used as opposed to full names appeared to have been a contributing factor to a number of returned voting cards as well. "We have looked at this and will certainly make adjustments in the future," Berkel said.

The head of the voting bureau said the voting cards were delivered to the Post Office on approximately November 24, 2014, with a delivery schedule of approximately one-and-a-half to two weeks. Remaining cards would have been returned by December 8, 2014.

"As customary, the main voting bureau had announced via local media (cable TV/radio/newspaper) that persons not receiving their voting cards had the right to collect those at the Census Office at any time up to and including the day prior to the referendum. Likewise, it was also communicated that replacement cards were also available," said the Governor.

"On December 19, a public meeting of the main voting bureau was held, where the results of the referendum were confirmed. This meeting also provided an opportunity to interested persons to file complaints or concerns regarding the results or other issues that pertained to the election process. While some person in attendance posed questions, to date there has been no formal complaints filed either to the main voting bureau, my office or the office of the Public Prosecutor that I am aware of," Governor Berkel stated.