2,500 Plus Electors Disallowed from Re-registering Due to Missing Docs At Vital Stats

Josephine Tamai

While on Open Your Eyes, Tamai and Singh responded to concerns regarding the Vital Statistics Unit. As we have been reporting, many electors are complaining that they are being disenfranchised from re-registering because Vital Stats does not have birth certificates for them. According to Tamai a little over two thousand five hundred persons have not been able to re-register and consequently disallowed due to missing documents. Singh says that the Government is aware of the issues at Vital Stats and the problems have to be addressed.

Josephine Tamai, Chief Elections Officer, Elections and Boundaries Department

“We even go as far as trying to find old information from Social Security to give Vital Statistic maybe a registration number that they can find so we go above and beyond. I will tell you, yes people were complaining, so many persons were left off the list. We had so many persons on pending and again those names remain on pending to give the different entities the opportunity to find the records being Vital Stats or immigration department. Many of those persons have come back in because they do have their documentation and we accept their applications. As it stands now we have a little bit over two thousand five hundred persons who we still cannot verify due to documents. It’s not a whole lot of persons and if those persons are out there and they have their documentation, even though those persons have been disallowed, they can come back in with their documentation. Yes we know in the pass they use to use affidavit and those sort of thing, during that time Vital Statistic didn’t have a late registration system. Now they have that late registration so they need to go into that department, get their record together and then come to elections and boundaries. We will take your application as long as we can verify the information. But we just cannot put persons or assume that because you were on the list.”

Marleni Cuellar, Host

“And that isn’t something that any Belizean would be comfortable with but question is, have you taken this concern…”

Douglas Singh

Douglas Singh, Chairman, Elections and Boundaries Commission

“Yes, she has. The government is very much aware of the challenges, I think to a lesser degree at Immigration Department but to a great degree at Vital Statistic because I mean we have heard that there are even pages within some logs that may not be there. So we are aware to the challenges and we are sympathetic with the people who actually come out to try and register. That problem has to be fixed.”