Electoral Process

Electoral Registration

Prior to the issuing of writs of any election, the President may by proclamation declare a period of electoral registration

An Electoral Registration provides an eleventh-hour opportunity, as it were, for individuals to be registered or to have their registration status rectified before an upcoming election. It commences on the basis of a presidential proclamation which directs that the “… electoral registration “shall be conducted in the Registration Area Offices or the Temporary Registration Area Offices established in the electoral district in which the election is to be held.

The presidential proclamation specifies “… the election to which the proclamation relates, and (fixes) the date of commencement of an electoral registration.” The nine days of the electoral registration is the time during which registration activities relevant to the staging of an election are held, facilitating persons who have:-

• attained the age of 18 and over but who have not been registered as electors or,
• been registered as electors but changed their addresses and not yet notified the relevant registration officer of such change or,
• been registered as electors and changed their names because of marriage or otherwise, or
• been registered as electors but their names are not on the Preliminary List

“The ninth day after the date fixed as the date of commencement of an electoral registration is called the “qualifying date”. For example, if electoral registration commences on, say, 16th March 200x then the qualifying date is 25th March 200x. That is to say it is the day after registration for an electoral registration closes. And from the qualifying date to the date proclaimed by the President as the termination of an electoral registration, no registration transaction affecting the register of electors can be effected. It is important to note also that subject to the provisions of the Representation of the People Act (op. cit) “… a (registered) person is qualified to be an elector for an electoral district at a Parliamentary election, a Regional Corporation election or the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) election, who on the qualifying date has resided in that electoral district for a period of at least two months preceding the qualifying date.”

Nomination Day

Nomination Day is held on a date not less than fourteen days after the day of issue of the Writ (of election).

Election Notice

Upon receipt of a Writ of Election a Returning Officer shall within two days thereafter and not less than twelve days before nomination day, publish in the official Gazette and in at least one daily newspaper an Election Notice. Also, copies of the notice are to be posted at the Returning Officer’s offices and at such other places in the electoral district as appropriate.

The Notice of Election of a member/members* for the Electoral District of ….. (Form No. 35 in the Prescribed Form Rules) indicates:

1. the address of the office of the Returning Officer;
2. the dates and hours of operations of the office;
3. the date and time for the preliminary examination of nomination papers;
4. the date and hours of operation for the nomination of candidates;
5. the date and hours for the conduct of the poll;
6. the date and time for the declaration of the results of the poll; and
7. the date and time for a recount, if it is requested.

List of Special Electors

Persons deemed to be Special Electors cast their votes in accordance with certain provisions laid down in the Election Rules of the ROP (op. cit). An elector is eligible to be treated as a special elector if he or she is: Click to see full list and relevant criteria.

Establishment of Polling Stations and Issue of Poll Cards

The Commission through its staff and Returning Officers acting separately, conduct an inspection of buildings to determine their suitability for use as polling stations. The main criteria for selecting buildings/sites for use as polling stations are:-

1. The safety of the building and its capacity for accommodating persons waiting to cast their vote;
2. The building should preferably be public or community owned with adequate space and facilities to facilitate handicapped and elderly voters;
3. The building should ideally be located within the electoral district and as far as practicable, in the polling division to which the polling stations relate.

Having selected the buildings for use as polling stations, and with the approval of the Commission, the Returning Officers must publish the information regarding the establishment of polling stations in the electoral districts in the legal ‘NOTICE OF TAKING POLL’.

This notice which is published in at least one (1) daily newspaper states the following:-

1. the date of the election and hours during which the poll will be conducted;
2. the polling station number, which is the same as that of the polling division it services, and the address of the polling station;
3. information on candidates i.e. name, address, occupation and symbol.

Copies of the notice are posted at the office of the Returning Officer and at strategic locations in the electoral district. Copies are also made available to political parties, candidates and the media.

A vital document in the voting process is the poll card. It carries, in addition to identifying information on the elector, particulars such as the date of the election and the polling station location and is usually issued to electors prior to polling day. While ideally an elector should have the poll card in his possession when he goes to vote, he is not placed at a disadvantage if he fails to produce it, since one would be prepared for him at the polling station.