Issuance of Writ for Referendum leads to more public education

The issuance of the Writ for the Referendum which will take place on November 6, paves the way for a second education campaign about the actual process, and the training of officers who will be assisting electoral officials.
The office of the Governor General delivered the documents to the Supervisor of Elections Lorna Simon on Friday, according to a release from the Antigua and Barbuda Electoral Commission (ABEC).  According to ABEC, the documents will be posted at familiar places within all constituencies – places where the register of electors and the Supplementary Lists are usually posted.
The Supervisor of Elections told our newsroom yesterday, that the Writ sets in motion things that should be implemented for the upcoming referendum. She said the first tasks at hand will be the launch of a public awareness campaign within the various communities to educate voters on what to expect on the day of the ballot and how the process will work.
The nation will be going to the polls to vote to determine whether Antigua and Barbuda will retain the London-based Privy Council as its final court of appeal or move to the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ).
“We will also have to do the training as we do in the general election, we will train the returning officers with a special trainer, and they will, in turn, train presiding officers and poll clerks in the respective constituencies.
“The Writ is my authority to conduct the referendum. I had to wait until I received the Writ with the confirmed date before pushing the education aspect about the process,” Simon said.
She also explained that her team will also be publicising the image of the ballot paper and educating people about how they should vote.
The general public is advised that the question for the ballot paper will read, “Do you approve the Constitutional Referendum (Amendment) Bill 2018 for an Act proposing to alter the Constitution of Antigua and Barbuda?”
Eligible voters will be asked to mark an X to the right of the word YES showing their approval of the Bill or an X to the right of the word NO showing their disapproval.