The Tribune

By NICO SCAVELLA

Tribune Staff Reporter

nscavella@tribunemedia.net

FREE National Movement candidate for Centreville Reece Chipman yesterday criticised the appointment of a “known” Progressive Liberal Party supporter as the returning election officer for that constituency, claiming that the selection could have a negative impact on the “quality of the election process”.

Mr Chipman, in an interview with The Tribune, expressed his “disappointment” over the appointment of the returning officer in question, as he said her “advocacy” for the PLP on her Facebook page gives the impression that “they (the PLP) are attempting to be unfair.”

Mr Chipman said while he understands and respects that everyone has their own affiliations, and that while he doesn’t have a personal issue with the woman, an election officer should not be someone whom others can “look at their Facebook page and could tell that they are promoting the efforts of the Progressive Liberal Party”.

When contacted yesterday, Mr Hall acknowledged that his office did receive a “verbal complaint” from Mr Chipman over the matter. He said his department would look into the issue.

“I heard from one of my officers Mr Chipman did call and did make a verbal complaint,” Mr Hall told The Tribune. “We will look into the case again, and we will do some investigations and make a decision thereafter.”

When pressed on the matter, Mr Hall said: “That’s all I can say, sir. I’ll look into the case of the complaint.”

According to Facebook posts made in May 2012, which coincides with the time the last general election was held, the returning officer seemed to be very invested in the PLP’s victory at the time, celebrating when persons such as FNM Garden Hills candidate Brensil Rolle, former Marco City MP Zhivargo Laing, and former FNM Golden Isles MP Charles Maynard (now deceased), and others, lost their seats.

In 2012, the returning officer also celebrated in three separate posts when Melanie Griffin, Ryan Pinder and Jerome Fitzgerald won in Yamacraw, Elizabeth and Marathon respectively.

Yesterday, Mr Chipman said he wrote to Mr Hall about his objection to the selection, and also questioned who the presiding officers and police officers would be for the various constituencies and polling divisions.

“I did send him a letter expressing my disappointment with the appointment of ... the returning officer, because usually that position is (filled) by a permanent secretary or something, and to my knowledge she is not a permanent secretary,” Mr Chipman said. “And most permanent secretaries would not be displaying a Facebook page advocating or promoting a particular party.

“And so I believe it to be not only unfair in terms of that choice, but also it doesn’t bode well for the future for parliamentary elections. I know her to be a PLP, and not no light PLP. And I just think we need to be a little bit more neutral when it comes to those things.”

He added: “I don’t have nothing against her personally. I just think the position of returning officer, the country needs proper rules and guidelines as it relates to the appointment of returning officers, in terms of the neutrality of the position.”

Mr Chipman also said that despite the confirmed attendance of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the United States to monitor this year’s election, the appointment could adversely affect the election process in Centreville, an area Prime Minister Perry Christie has represented for 40 years.

“I am just trying to bring to the attention of the public first of all, who the returning officer is … because a lot of people don’t even know who is the returning officer,” he said. “So we need to make sure that the public is aware of who the returning officer is and why the position needs to be one of independence.

“And so I think we need to be able to, from top to bottom, make sure the process is seen as one that is fair.”

He added: “I do understand that we usually use neutral persons, meaning people, you know they obviously vote, they have affiliations. But they would not be people you would look at their Facebook page and could tell that they are promoting the efforts of the Progressive Liberal Party.”