POND ISLAND–The February 26 parliamentary election may well see another new political party on the scene. The Electoral Council received a lone request to register in the party registry when it sat in the Government Administration Building on Thursday.
The Council did not divulge the name of the new party. That reveal will come in three weeks’ time if the party has all of its paperwork in order. If not, it will be an additional week, unless the party representatives decide to make their intentions known prior to the Council’s announcement. The fourth week is granted by law to allow the party to rectify any issue with paperwork.
If registered, the new party will join the eight others already inscribed in the party registry. Those parties have the right to contest the upcoming snap election. The four with seats in Parliament can go directly to the ballot, but the other four and the lone new party will require the signed endorsements of one per cent of the eligible voters from the last snap election held in September 2016.
Linda Richardson of the Electoral Council told The Daily Herald the request for registration of the one party showed that “it was better to postpone the election date. If not, this party would not have had this opportunity.”
Had the William Marlin Cabinet pushed through with its original plan for elections on January 8, the legally required step to allow new parties to register would have been circumvented. Thursday was the deadline for registration of new parties, a process that opened on November 16.
The Electoral Council held its session to receive applications in accordance with the law on the registration and financing of political parties in the Government Administration Building from 2:00 to 6:00pm. The Council’s office in Philipsburg was severely damaged by Hurricane Irma, leaving the Council virtually homeless.
Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/71219-new-political-party-seeks-registration
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