LINYON DEMOKRATIK SESELWA
PRESS RELEASE
LDS propose process for Perseverance to become an Electoral Area
immediately
LDS met with representatives of the Electoral Commission
today, April 29, to discuss the issue of declaring Perseverance an Electoral
Area in time for the forthcoming National Assembly elections.
Chairman Hendricks Gappy and Legal Counsel Samantha Aglae
who represented the Commission said the meeting was to get the proposals of the
parties on how this could be done in view of the time constraints imposed by
the provisions of the Constitution and the Elections Act.
The proposal to declare Perseverance an electoral area was
contained in a Draft Order passed by the National Assembly in October 2015. The
Draft Order needs to be approved by the President and gazetted. This has not
yet been done.
Under article 116 (5) of the Constitution , Perseverance
will become an Electoral Area only at the dissolution of the present National
Assembly for the next elections. The procedures for registration of voters
under the Elections Act can take several weeks.
These provisions mean that they will not be registered in
time to vote at the National Assembly elections.
The block of parties in Linyon Demokratik Seselwa have made
proposals for legal amendments to overcome the present obstacles.
1. Article
116 (5) of the Constitution to be amended for Perseverance to become an
electoral area immediately when the Order is gazetted, not waiting for the
Assembly to be dissolved.
2. The Elections Act to be amended for residents of
Perseverance to be registered based on the existing list of residents used in
the 2015 elections.
LDS have said the legal steps to establish the
electoral area can be concluded within a week, and registration of voters can
be concluded in time for the Assembly elections.
What is required is for the National Assembly to be called
into session to pass these amendments and for the President to approve the
Order and have it published.
The responsibility falls on James Michel to have these steps
taken immediately. Not doing so will mean disenfranchising the residents of
Perseverance by denying them the right to register in an electoral district in
which they live and denying them the right to vote for a member of the National
Assembly to represent their district.
Roger Mancienne
Chairman. Linyon Demokratik Seselwa
Victoria April
29. 2016
Mahe
