The Electoral Office of Dominica Tuesday said it does not “publish, sell or release for any reason” digital copies of the Register of Electors after it said it had become aware that there is in circulation “an online publication of a document purporting to be a list of electors which has neither been authorized nor issued by this Office”.
In a statement, the Electoral Office said it wanted to remind the public that the physical copies of the Register of Electors, produced by the Electoral Office for publication or for sale are the only legitimate source of elector information available in the Commonwealth of Dominica.
“The Electoral Office does not publish, sell or release for any reason, digital copies of the Register of
Electors. Only physical copies of the lists are ever released, as required by law. The Electoral Office also advises against the replication of lists purchased from or issued by the Office,” the Elector Office said in a statement.
Chief Electoral Officer Ian-Michael Anthony, said the Electoral Office wanted to “make it exceedingly clear that our systems have not been compromised and any elector information released digitally in the public domain did not come from the Voter Management System used by the Electoral Office.
“As required by law, Electors Lists are published and posted in all polling districts and the public asked to scrutinize the lists and bring any areas of concern to the attention of the Electoral Office,” he added.
Dominica is gearing for a general election that while constitutionally due by March next year, is widely expected to take place later this year.
Both the ruling Dominica Labour Party (DLP) and the main opposition United Workers Party (UWP) have named candidates for the 21 seats in the Parliament where the DLP presently enjoys a 15-6 majority.
The Electoral Office said that registered electors are urged to refer to the published Register of Electors and any subsequent supplementary lists in their respective polling districts or speak with the Assistant Registering Officers in their communities and constituencies to ensure that they have any queries addressed with the most up to date information regarding their status as duly registered.
“The Electoral Office of Dominica, under the direction of the Chief Registering Officer …is the only entity empowered by the Registration Of Electors Act (Chap 2:03) to collect, guard and produce elector information and the production and publishing of these lists are done multiple times per year.”
It said that on September 30th each year, it is required to publish, in each polling district, the preliminary Register of Electors.
“The office is also tasked with publishing the final Register of Electors on the November 30th of the same year, inclusive of all additions to and removals from, the preliminary list. Additionally, supplementary lists are produced each quarter that features any newly registered persons duly registered in the preceding three months.”
Anthony said the digital reproduction of the list is something that the Electoral Commission and the Electoral Office “have given consideration to from time to time, however there is recognition that one key factor is the security of any list produced or any online publication of the list.
“But it is not something that has been dismissed outright. We continue to look at implementing this, once we have the appropriate legal framework and technologies in place,” he added.
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