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‘Remove the dead’ - Richard Azan wants EOJ to clean the voters’ list; Director of Elections says no need to panic (11/20/2007)
By; Petrina Francis and Edmond Campbell, Gleaner Writers
Claiming that some electors voted for dead persons in the last general election, Richard Azan, the People’s National Party (PNP) candidate for the Spalding division in Clarendon, says he will resist any attempt by the Electoral Office of Jamaica (EOJ) to use certain presiding officers and poll clerks in the December 5 local government polls.
According to Mr. Azan, former Member of Parliament for Clarendon North West, who lost the September 3 general election to the JLP’s Michael Stern, some election day workers are to be blamed because they were involved in this fraudulent practice.
Sloppy Work
“This is something we are not going to take easy in this parish council elections. Presiding officers and poll clerks did sloppy work (in the last election),” Mr. Azan told reporters, yesterday, after he was nominated at the Frankfield Police Station in Clarendon.
He added: “(There were) a lot of polling stations where people were not on the list and people voted in dead people’s names and we have proof for a number of them and we have lodged complaints.” Mr. Azan also said many polling divisions were without black books during the last election. Black books have the photographs of electors.
The candidate said his party has taken the decision to change its indoor agents in some of the polling divisions in the constituency for the December 5 polls.
“We have plans but we will not disclose our plans,” he said.
But, Director of Elections, Danville Walker, said there was no need to be alarmed at reports of the names of deceased persons on the voters’ list.
“The Director of Elections cannot command people not to die between the publication of the voters’ list,” said Mr. Walker. A new voters list is published every six months.
He said he was not troubled that the names of the dead were on the voters’ list. Mr. Walker noted that the EOJ has systems in place to ensure that no one votes in the name of dead people.
He told The Gleaner that the allegations by Mr. Azan that deceased persons were on the list were not enough evidence to remove those names.
He said the EOJ, in the publication of the next voters’ list on December 6, would ensure that the names of deceased persons are removed Mr. Azan will be contesting the division against the JLP’s Clinton Marshall. He said he was confident that he would take home the division for the PNP.
“The race is not finish until it’s finished,” said Mr. Azan. “My aim is to go to this election..(and) give the people the service that they need,” he told journalists.
Former PNP councillor for the division Jean White, who was elected councillor in the 2003 Local Government election, passed away on her way to Rome in September. Mrs. White was on her way to do an operation after a short fight with cancer. Meanwhile, Mr. Azan said the last general election did not go as smoothly as electoral officials said.
“I listen to Walker and the Electoral Commission chairman saying all sort of things and boasting that nobody complained (about the voters’ list)”,’ he said.
However, the former MP said he has made several complaints to the returning officer for his constituency because some of his constituents who were enumerated and verified were not allowed to vote.
Meanwhile the EOJ yesterday reported that 473 candidates were duly nominated for the Local Government election.
The JLP and the PNP nominated 228 candidates each, three for the National Democratic Movement, 11 Independent candidates and three from the Imperial Ethiopian World Federation Inc.
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