The last related article, Voter Registration Forum Imperative for Grenada Electoral Process, calls for the powers-that-be and well-meaning individuals to bring, within a community setting and with printed points, ‘clarity and settlement’ on the lingering concerns surrounding ‘Who Can Be Registered and Remained Registered to Vote’.
The issue comes into focus, because of heightened public debates but with political biases, over plans for organising the Diaspora to return solely for the purpose of voting in the upcoming elections.
Further to challenging the Supervisor of Elections (SoE) in the Parliamentary Elections Office (PEO) to admirably deliver within the statutory provisions, on this required public education, the expectancy is also for resourceful custodians of democracy and civil society institutions like the Grenada Bar Association and the Citizens for Constitution Reform (CCR) to assist in that regard.
SoE/PEO Engagement
Unfortunately for whatever mysterious reason, the SoE/PEO do not have a propensity to engage openly with the Grenadian people.
Apart from seasonal issues about the publication of the Voters List and the announcement of the Voting Day, significant information pertinent to the electoral process is not presented to the people.
The engagement policy of the PEO prioritises discussions with political parties and conducts meetings with interest groups mainly upon request.
In fact, the Voter Registration and Civic Education Officer, Ferdinand Phillip, declares that along with the SoE, Arthur Pierre, on a media interview recently, that the electoral officials determine what information is “dull and dreary” for the public and so – “what needs to be publicised we publicise it”.
Particularly, Pierre does not have a passion for public consultations, as exemplifies with the ‘unexplained cancellation’ in June 2024 of a series of ongoing consultations for the purchasing and installation of an upgraded Voter Registration System.
The ‘limited and sectorial’ engagement of the SoE/PEO with the general public facilitates the perpetuation of misinformation, malpractices and misinterpretations about the electoral process.
This scenario is manifested with the appalling ‘attitude and approach’ to Voter Registration. Recall the article Competence and Integrity of Grenada Elections Officials in question! which asserts that the management of voter registration is trivialised, with likely Misapplication and Negligence by the Registration Officers.
Layne’s Legal Eyes Input
Joseph Ewart Layne dedicated the 21 June 2026 social media Legal Eyes show to the CCR for professional deliberations on the heated debate, with emphasis as to whether the Grenadian diaspora is entitled to be registered and can remain registered to vote, despite residing abroad.
With Layne himself being a trained attorney and a founding member of CCR, the panel consisted of Dr. Francis Alexis KC, Ruggles Ferguson KC, and Ms. Kamilah Andrews, Grenadian law student.
Layne may well have a special interest in the debate, also because it is deemed that the CCR is occupied with the formulation of a Bill for Parliament, regarding the ‘recognition and rights’ of the generations of Grenadians who are born abroad.
The presentations on that Sunday were intriguing with the injection of more confusion and convolutions into the debate, especially to do with ‘ordinarily resident’ and on ‘objection to the inclusion of names in the Voters List’.
It was also amazing to have Ferguson KC. referring to the efforts in 2016 to have had the ‘right to vote’ expressed as a human right in the “Fundamental Rights and Freedoms” of the 1974 Independence Constitution.
The Constitution of Grenada (Rights and Freedoms) (Amendment) Bill, 2016 was put to the people in a referendum but failed to get the requisite votes.
It was a ‘loaded and complex’ Bill which contains: Right of Vote thus “There shall be guaranteed the right of every citizen of Grenada— (a) who is qualified to be registered as an elector for elections to the House of Representatives, to be so registered; and (b) who is so registered, to vote in such elections which shall be free and fair.”
The rejection on 24 November 2016 of this proposition for ‘elevating the right to vote’ to the Bill of Rights, must be applauded as a great benefit in preserving Grenada’s sovereignty and it must again be strongly rejected by all conscious and patriotic born Grenadians.
Section 32 of the Constitution already provides, ‘sufficiently and properly’, for the entrenched entitlement of eligible citizens to be registered and to vote in the “Election of Members of House of Representatives”, within the realm of democratic principles.
This issue with other aspects of Layne’s Show would be further scrutinised in a future caption/article.
Sovereign Entitlement
Voter Registration is a fundamental requirement for exercising the right to vote in elections; typical for Grenada are general elections, local government and constitutional referendum.
The act of voting in general elections, on the basis of Constituency Representatives, gives a citizen a stake in the governance and development of the country, with a sense of pride and patriotism.
In a politically independent country, the entitlement to be registered and be able to vote is ‘sovereign’. This sovereign entitlement should be reserved for and be limited to Bonafide citizens, but in Grenada it is seriously threatened by ‘manipulative inclusion’ of foreigners such as holders of Citizenship By Investment on the Election List.
The Grenada Constitution mandates and secures the eligibility criteria for a citizen to enjoy the sovereign entitlement to register and to vote. It also aspires that the registration process and the voting process be credible, free from external influences and domination.
By this, section 35 institutes an independent entity for registering and voting purposes, with the SoE taking and subscribing to the Oath of Allegiance and the Oath of Office and being not subject to the direction or control of any other person or authority.
Section 32 of the Constitution, under the heading “Election of Members of House of Representatives”. provides for the deep-rooted ‘registering and voting’ criteria; thus: (1) be a Commonwealth citizen, (2) attains the prescribed age of eighteen years, and (3) possesses such qualifications relating to residence or domicile in Grenada as Parliament may prescribe.
Parliament focuses on the qualifications relating to ‘ordinary residence’ and these are featured in the Representation of the People Act (RPA / Cap. 286A).
The RPA as the functional statute regarding the electoral process is not void of imperfections and not immune from challenges. It contains some provisions which are liable to be judged unconstitutional, as well as contains some ambiguous provisions which are exposed to abuse.
The RPA is comprehensive with a Subsidiary Legislation on Registration of Electors Rules, and it is being assisted with “Rules to Regulate the Practice and Procedure for Election Petitions” (Statutory Rules and Orders No. 12 of 2014).
The most substantial and impactful amendments to the principal Act, Cap. 286A, are by Act No. 13 of 2018.
Registration Requirements
Registration requirements are important to capture the identity and eligibility of a person who is desirous to vote, as well as to preserve the sovereign entitlement of Bonafide Grenadian citizens and thereby fostering free and fair elections.
Misapplications of the RPA and Negligence with the process by the Registration Officers can cause Voter Padding and Duplicate Registration which are criminal offences.
RPA section 26B warns: “A registration officer who willfully without reasonable excuse, omits to register the name of any person entitled to be registered, or enters in the list the name of any person who is not entitled to have his name entered therein, is guilty of an offence and liable, on summary conviction, to a fine of five hundred dollars or imprisonment for six months, or both”.
Similarly, section 26G addresses on False Statements, thus: “Where a person giving information for the purposes of this Act makes a statement that he knows to be false, or does not believe to be true, he commits an offence, and is liable, on summary conviction, to a fine of five hundred dollars or imprisonment for six months”.
RPA’s sections 6 & 9 and Part III of the Rules (33-36) outline that anyone desirous to be registered should be a citizen of Grenada; or a Commonwealth citizen who has resided in Grenada for a period of at least twelve months immediately before the date of registration; should have attained the age of eighteen years; should be “ordinarily resident” in a polling division in any one voting constituency; should present a birth certificate, a valid passport, or a citizenship certificate; and should have fingerprint, signature and photograph taken digitally.
Critical for Vigilance, ‘All personal data collected and entered into the System should only be used for the purposes of elections in accordance with RPA’s provisions’.
Furthermore, the Representation of the People (Amendment) Act, 2018, advices for the submission of “Proof of ordinary residence” through a recent utility bill, a copy of a current lease agreement, a copy of current recent receipts, a copy of property tax demand notice, or any other document that the SoE may deem acceptable.
Good Faith on the part of the SoE should cause to make public the “any other document” which may be accepted and that section 26C (Principal Act) on Vouching Information be observed at least with authentication of all documents by a current or authorised Justice of the Peace.
Claims and Objections
The registration of a citizen to vote is ‘completed and accepted’ when the Registration Officer is satisfied that those requirements are met; when the data is entered into the Computerised Voter Registration System and a Voter Identification card is issued (RPA, sections 8 & 24); and when the recorded particulars of the citizen are published on the current Voters List and there is no objection (sections 14 to 18).
Section 12, RPA, provides for a registration officer acting in accordance with the Constitution and the Act, and the Rules, to register, or cause to be registered on a continuous basis, a person who is qualified to be an elector that is not yet registered.
This Continuous Registration is interrupted according to section 21, “Where the Governor-General issues a writ for an election in a constituency, no further registration shall be allowed until after that election … from the date of the publication of the current list … there shall be a seven day period for claims and objections as provided for under the Rules”.
It is grossly erroneous over the years to have the SoE/PEO enforcing Section 21 as a timeframe for the public to raise Claims and Objections about the quarterly publication of the current Election List. That is, there are no time restrictions for submitting a claim or an objection.
Rule 52 says: “A claim to be included in the lists, or an objection to any name in the list under rule 49 or 50, may be made at any time.”
Mr. Pierre needs to know and to correct his media stance of “when the List is published you have seven days to raise an objection”.
Equally so, Mr. Phillip ought to ensure that the information and interpretations about the ‘rights and responsibilities’ of the Grenadian people about the electoral process be accurate.
J.K. Roberts