'No dead persons will climb out of cemeteries'

CHAIRMAN of the Electoral Commission of Jamaica Professor Errol Miller has assured that only living, registered voters will participate in the December 29 general election.

"I want to assure you that no dead person will climb out of the cemeteries, they are locked down tight, tight. Since 2007 no dead person has voted. On a serious note, nobody will vote in the name of a dead person," Professor Miller said yesterday.

The ECJ chairman, who was responding to humorous sentiments echoed by several individuals attending a royalty distribution ceremony put on by the Jamaican Copyright Licensing Agency (JAMCOPY) at Wyndham Kingston Hotel, expressed hope that there would be no bogus voting in the election.

The police, military and election day workers are expected to cast their votes on December 22 -- three working days before civilians vote on the December 29.

In the meantime, the ECJ chairman has encouraged all individuals who have not yet collected their voter identification cards to do so before Election Day. "Please collect your cards, because if you have it you would get out of the polling station much faster," Professor Miller said, noting that while persons would still be able to vote, the verification process while certain, would take more time. "If you have the card it's much easier," he said.

In the meantime, chairman of JAMCOPY, Mark Thomas, said the contribution of intellectual property could no longer ignored, and pointed to a recent study which showed that the copyright sector alone attributed to over four per cent of Gross Domestic Product, while some three per cent of the employed population made a living from the sector.