UPDATE: Nomination Day now February 14
Nomination Day has been shifted to February 14; three days later than the previous February 11 date.
Supervisor of Elections Juliette Penn said the change is to give candidates additional time to make what are known as ‘declarations of interest’.
A declaration of interest is a constitutional requirement for election candidates to state whether they are associated with any government organisation.
The constitution states that no person shall be qualified to be elected as a member of the House of Assembly if he/she “is a party to, or a partner in a firm or a director or manager of a company which is a party to, any contract with the Government of the Virgin Islands for or on account of the public service, and has not, within fourteen days before his or her nomination as a candidate for election, published in the Gazette or in a newspaper circulating in the Virgin Islands a notice setting out the nature of such contract and his or her interest, or the interest of such firm or company, in it.”
On Nomination Day, an electoral candidate is required to have two registered voters nominate him/her in the presence of a witness. These candidates must pay a nomination fee of $1,000.
PREVIOUSLY-PUBLISHED ARTICLE
Nomination Day has been earmarked for February 11.
With this date now announced, the Office of the Supervisor of Elections has urged candidates to ‘declare their interests’.
This means they (election candidates) are required to state whether they are associated with any government organisation.
According to Section 66 of the Virgin Islands Constitution, no person shall be qualified to be elected as a member of the House of Assembly if he/she “is a party to, or a partner in a firm or a director or manager of a company which is a party to, any contract with the Government of the Virgin Islands for or on account of the public service, and has not, within fourteen days before his or her nomination as a candidate for election, published in the Gazette or in a newspaper circulating in the Virgin Islands a notice setting out the nature of such contract and his or her interest, or the interest of such firm or company, in it.”
What is Nomination Day, how to get nominated?
As the name suggests, Nomination Day is the date when candidates must officially get recommended to contest a general election.
An electoral district candidate is required to have two registered voters nominate him/her in the presence of a witness.
“The two registered voters must be from their (the candidate’s) district,” explained Supervisor of Elections, Juliette Penn.
At-Large candidates can be nominated by any two registered voters from any district. In the meantime, all candidates are required to pay a $1,000 nomination fee.
“If you are successful in the election, you get back your $1,000. If you are unsuccessful and you do not get one-eigth (1/8) of the votes that were cast in the district, you would not get back your money. For the Territoral At-Large candidates, you must get one-thirty-second (1/32) of the total votes cast in order to get a refund of your $1,000. If not, it goes into the treasury,” Penn explained.
Copyright 2024 BVI News, Media Expressions Limited. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or distributed.
Will diego and shawonde give up their government contracts?
They don’t have to. They just need to declare it.
I don’t trust this lady with the handling of district 8 affairs
Is the $1000 a poll tax and an anachronism? This goes back to the days when one had to own property to vote and stand for election. These requirements we all know that were intended to keep the lil man out of the process. Further, requiring 2 other voters to vouch for an otherwise qualified candidate to stand for election is another anachronism that needs to be cast on the dung heap. Why a district candidate needs to get 12.5% of vote cast but an At Large candidate only needs 3.1%?
The registration fee is to discourage frivolous nominations, such as the Monster Raving Loony party in UK (though they still do put up candidates). As is the penalty for not getting a percentage of the votes. As is the requirement for two nominators, otherwise any idiot could sign up.
Nomination day February 14 2019. Bring your mother and father birth paper, and your grand parents own to.
Declare your interest before the nomination day.
read our constitution section related:
Qualifications for elected membership
65.—(1) Subject to this section and section 66, a person shall be qualified to be elected as a member of the House of Assembly if, and shall not be qualified to be so elected unless, he or she— (a) was so qualified immediately before the commencement of this Constitution; or (b) is a person who— (i) is a Virgin Islander of the age of twenty-one years or upwards; and (ii) is otherwise qualified as a voter under section 68. (2) Subject to subsections (3) and (4), for the purposes of subsection (1)(b)(i) a “Virgin Islander” is a person who belongs to the Virgin Islands by birth or descent who was— (a) born in the Virgin Islands of a father or mother who at the time of the birth was a British overseas territories citizen (or a British Dependent Territories citizen) by virtue of birth in
35
the Virgin Islands or by virtue of descent from a father or mother who was born in the Virgin Islands; (b) born in the Virgin Islands of a father or mother who at the time of the birth belonged to the Virgin Islands by birth or descent; or (c) born outside the Virgin Islands of a father or mother who at the time of the birth belonged to the Virgin Islands by birth or descent. (3) A person born outside the Virgin Islands who belongs to the Virgin Islands by descent shall not be qualified to be elected as a member of the House of Assembly unless one of his or her grandparents belonged to the Virgin Islands by birth. (4) A person, whether born in or outside the Virgin Islands, who would otherwise be qualified to be elected as an elected member of the House of Assembly by virtue of subsection (1)(b) shall not be so qualified unless— (a) where that person has never been domiciled in the Virgin Islands, he or she has resided in the Virgin Islands for at least five years immediately before the date of his or her nomination for election; or (b) where that person was formerly domiciled in the Virgin Islands but has lived outside the Virgin Islands for a continuous period of at least ten years (excluding periods related to medical or educational purposes), he or she has resided in the Virgin Islands for at least three years immediately before the date of his or her nomination for election and is domiciled in the Virgin Islands at that date