Hanover aspiring independent candidate turned away for not being on voters’ list
HANOVER, Jamaica— A man who has nothing to do with the country’s voting system was turned away when he showed up at the Sandy Bay Community Centre to be nominated. The community centre was used as the nomination centre.
Forty-year-old O’Keefe Gocool who was aspiring to run as an independent candidate was the first person to enter the centre when it opened its doors at 10:00 am but was turned away.
While the man argued about his constitutional rights, the returning officer, Hermena Bucknor, advised him that his name had to be on a voters’ list in the parish to be nominated as a candidate.
The man was advised to lodge a complaint with the Electoral Commission of Jamaica’s regional office in St James.
Bucknor further explained the process.
“For you to be nominated as a candidate, your name has to be on the list in the parish. His name is on no list. He has no voter ID. He has never been registered,” stated Bucknor.
Bucknor said this is something that is clearly pointed out in the Representation of The People Act (ROPA).
Efforts to get a hold of Gocool were unsuccessful.
-Anthony Lewis