UNC meets with EBC for election talks

Officials from the United National Congress (UNC) met on Friday with officials from the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) on the upcoming general election.

A release from UNC’s communications unit on Friday said the meeting, held at the request of the party, was part of its mandate to work in the interest of the people of TT in "securing our democratic rights."

Some of the issues raised related to voter registration, and the ability of citizens of Commonwealth territories to vote in general elections. There were also questions on the issue of special voting and the ability of the EBC to police the list of electors.

The UNC team also raised "concerns surrounding the official detailed report of the 2019 local government elections as well as how the covid19 restrictions will affect the upcoming voting process.

"The party has noticed and taken note of several recurring issues during the 2015 general elections and the 2019 local government election."

The UNC charged that these issues cannot be allowed to recur in the upcoming elections.

The party said it hopes issues such as allegations of voter-padding and the training of officers to standardise the way the presiding officers manage concerns across the board are rectified before the elections.

The communications unit echoed the call of the political leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar for the Government to reopen the country’s borders to allow for international observers for the general election.

"These observers played an integral part in the recent Guyana elections as we have seen with even a delegation from Caricom visiting," the release said.

"The observers will, of course, be subjected to all necessary mandatory quarantine to ensure they are free from covid19 before being allowed to function."

Adequate preparations should be made well beforehand for this important step is taken in TT's election process, the release said.