The Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) has been given a budgetary allocation of $21 million for the 2016 Local Government election but the commission may have to seek an increase in the allocation from the Minister of Finance.
EBC communications manager Dominic Hinds told the T&T Sunday Guardian: “The commission is in the process of doing an audit of election expenses for the Local Government elections, 2016, and if there is need for additional expenditure the chief election officer will then make the relevant request to the Ministry of Finance.”
The EBC’s budgetary allocation for 2013 was $55.8 million. That was the year of the last Local Government elections.
The budgetary breakdown for election expenses according to the 2017 Draft Estimates of Expenditure includes $10 million for short-term employment of staff and an additional $2 million for training; a sum of $1 million for postage, and $2.5 million for promotions and publicity.
EBC sources told the T&T Sunday Guardian that “elections are expensive events and we may well have to go back to the Minister of Finance for additional resources,” but Hinds refused to speculate telling us to “wait until the audit is completed.”
Hinds said the commission will be hiring 13,000 people as it gets ready for the November 28, Local Government elections. This includes returning officers who, he said,“have already been trained and who received their writs of elections last Tuesday October 25.”
Hinds said additional staff to be retained include “Election clerks and administrative support staff as well as a number of persons who will work in the various polling stations on polling day such as roving officers, presiding officers, officers in charge of ballot boxes, poll clerks, information officers and messengers.” Hinds said, “Training for these workers will begin shortly.”
In the 2003 Local Government election, 855,919 people were registered to vote; by 2013 the number of eligible voters had risen to 1,051,115. Asked how many people were registered to vote in the 2016 election Hinds said: “The revised list of electors would be released in the coming days and it is only when that is posted then the EBC would be in a position to give an update on the number of eligible electors for the 2016 Local Government elections.”
The EBC reported that 452,031 or 43 per cent of the voter population cast their ballots in 2013, the highest voter turnout in a Local Government election. Asked whether the EBC expected a similar voter turnout in this election, Hinds said, “That’s not up to the EBC but the electorate to decide. It is only after the exercise is completed then we will be in a position to ascertain the voter turnout population/percentage.
“Historically, the voter turnout for Local Government elections is generally low when compared to parliamentary elections, so it will be safe to say based on the historical data that the trend is likely to continue.”
Hinds said the electoral ink is “normally manufactured locally.” He did not say whether the ink had already been acquired.
The 2013 election was historic in that it was the first time proportional representation was used to determine the number of aldermen for Local Government bodies.
The legislation allowing for proportional representation had been passed in the Parliament prior to the election. For the first time the number of aldermen for each party was selected on the basis of the quantum of votes won by a particular party.
Hinds said the law had not been changed and the same would apply for the 2016 election.
EBC EXPENSES
$ AMOUNT ALLOCATED
(draft estimates of expenditure 2017)
Travelling and subsistence $1.4m
Electricity $100,000
Rental of office accommodation $800,000
Rental of vehicles & equipment $500,000
Materials and supplies $1.5m
Repairs/equipment maintenance $200,000
Training $2m
Repairs/maintenance of buildings $100,000
Short-term employment $10m
Other contractual services $400,000
Security services $200,000
Postage $1m
Promotion, publicity & printing $2.5m
TOTAL $21.1m