Her Excellency the Governor, Helen Kilpatrick, today (Wednesday, 14 December 2016) issued writs to 19 Returning Officers as the next step towards conducting General Elections next year.

At the Government Administration Building at noon, the Governor handed over the writs to the Returning Officers and six Deputy Returning Officers in the presence of senior Elections Office officials, led by Supervisor Wesley Howell.

Writs are the documents the Governor issues to the Returning Officers commanding each of them to conduct an election in accordance with Section 28(2) of the Elections Amendment Law (2016).

Serving the writs on the Returning Officers also calls first for nominations of candidates to be held on Wednesday, 29 March 2017 and, next – if necessary (such as when more than one person is nominated as a candidate) – for elections to be held in the 19 electoral districts on 24 May 2017.

Following the election, these writs will be returned to the Governor with the name of the candidate who has been elected to serve in that electoral district, Supervisor Howell explained.

Issuing of the writs sets the stage for the rest of the Elections programme which was formally approved by the Governor earlier this month. The highlights are:

1. Dissolution of the Legislative Assembly – 28 March 2017
2. Proclamation Declaring General Elections – 28 March 2017
3. Nomination Day – 29 March 2017
4. Election Day – 24 May 2017 and
5. Elections returns served on the Governor and return of the writs – 29 May 2017.

Once appointed, the Returning Officers are responsible for the organisation and conduct of elections in their respective districts. Their duties include:

1. The receipt of candidates’ nominations;
2. The establishment and staffing of polling stations;
3. Provision of elections paraphernalia for polling stations;
4. Issuing postal ballots;
5. Training of elections officers (presiding officers/poll clerks);
6. The conduct of the polling;
7. The conduct of the scrutiny (vote counting) and
8. The declaration of the result of each election.

A list of the 19 Returning Officers and the electoral districts they cover follows.

Photo captions Photos by Bina Mani, GIS:

Her Excellency the Governor, Helen Kilpatrick with Elections Supervisor Wesley Howell

The Elections Returning Officers and Deputies hold up the Writs they received from Her Excellency the Governor, Helen Kilpatrick. Seated l-r: Deputy Supervisors Ernie Scott and Sheena Glasgow, the Governor, Elections Supervisor Wesley Howell and Elections official Mr. Rupert Moxam

A specimen of the writs issued