The Ministry of Indigenous People’s Affairs is examining a report of alleged irregularities in the Toshao election at Capoey, Region Two.
This is according to Junior Minister Valerie Garrido-Lowe, who has confirmed that a report was made to the ministry and that a decision will be made about going into the village to conduct an investigation.
Some residents of Capoey, in Region Two, are contending that the new Toshao did not meet the criteria to be nominated and that persons were also allowed to vote although they were not eligible.
A Toshao’s election was held on July 21st and resulted in the two nominees, Esther Rodrigues, a school teacher, and Melrose Henry, a former Community Development Officer (CDO), both obtaining an equal amount of votes. As a result, another poll was held and Henry obtained 114 votes to Rodrigues’ 113 votes, according to a resident.
During the second election, the resident, who asked not to be named, said five persons living outside of the village were allowed to vote. The names of those persons were not on the initial list of eligible voters as they had migrated from the area, the resident said. In addition, the resident added that a few names which were on the initial list were removed.
According to the resident, before an individual is eligible to vote he/she must be a resident of the village.
In addition, before someone is eligible to be nominated for the position of Toshao, he/she should have at least three years residency in the village and that person must have a house in the village, the resident said.
However, the villager stated that Henry only moved into Capoey a few months before the election and she started living in a shop which she was operating in the village. Henry, according to the resident, previously visited the area occasionally because of the shop.
Those issues were highlighted, the resident added, but the Presiding Officer did not address the objections.
The resident said someone questioned the nomination of Henry but the former Toshao’s response was that Henry was eligible to be nominated since she worked as a CDO.
Residents were also calling for an audit to be done into the village’s accounts since the previous Toshao handed over $4,000 cash and said that $80, 000 was in a bank account for monies collected for a sand pit service over a period of three years.
The village has a sand pit service and charges various sums, ranging from $600 to $1000, for a load, depending on the amount collected.
