FOR THE first time in 22 years, the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) will do a national field verification exercise of the electorate.

In a release yesterday, the EBC said its chairman Mark Ramkerrysingh and CEO Fern Narcis-Scope had met with representatives of the country's major political parties to inform them of the exercise.

"This exercise will be conducted on both islands in the upcoming months and will allow the EBC to fulfil its legal mandate of providing a comprehensive update to the country’s List of Electors. This List forms the foundation of election administration and is crucial to protecting the integrity of all elections. Importantly, it will ensure, as far as practicable, that each person whose name appears on the Electoral List is listed at his/her correct address within the respective polling divisions," the EBC said.

The last time a national list was compiled was 2001.

Ramkerrysingh said although the commission does field verification regularly, there is sometimes a need for a national exercise.

"He also noted that this upcoming exercise will be critically important, as in election management it is often said, '…the outcome of any election is only as good as the credibility of its electoral list,'" the EBC said.

The release said in the coming months, registered voters will be visited by itinerant assistant registration officers (IAROs), who will verify their status on the list of electors.

"The Chief Election Officer, Fern Narcis-Scope, added that this exercise is not to be confused with the national census being undertaken by the Ministry of Planning and asks the public for its assistance and co-operation when met by IAROs engaged in this national field verification exercise. She added that the EBC will be providing the public with all the relevant the details about this initiative in sensitisation campaigns throughout the country before the start of the exercise."

The exercise is being funded from an allocation in the fiscal package for 2022/2023.

The EBC said it met with the parties who have contested elections in the past five years and have elected members in the Parliament, local government and the Tobago House of Assembly.

"The discussions included details of the process which would be utilised and provided an opportunity to exchange ideas and allay any potential fears and concerns related to this initiative that the political parties may have."

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