Rodney Rey has resigned as Anguilla’s elections supervisor while an independent investigation continues into mistakes made during the advance voting process.
The Governor’s Office announced on Thursday, 17 April, that he had written to Governor Julia Crouch tendering his resignation with immediate effect.
“The governor thanked Mr Rey for his years of dedicated service to Anguilla organising two elections and one by-election and wishes him a happy and healthy retirement,” the statement said.
Rey was responsible for overseeing the organisation and execution of this year’s general election, including managing the advance voting process on 25 February and the general voting on 26 February.
During the advance voting he admitted in an online interview that he had “wrongfully and inadvertently” allowed some people to register to vote a day early, past the official deadline.
He said he had hoped to use his discretion for those who had genuine reasons for late registration, but said he was “wrong” and did not have the power under law.
‘Concerning matter’
A letter from opposition leader Ellis Webster to the governor, which was forwarded to press on 7 March, said he wanted to bring focus to what he described as misconduct.
He said Rey unlawfully decided to extend the date for early voter registration and gave the public no notice of his decision.
Webster described it as a “gravely concerning matter” and reminded the governor that she has ultimate oversight of the electoral process.
“It is your responsibility to act swiftly and meaningfully when you are aware of gross misconduct and breaches of our electoral law,” Webster wrote.
He said the expectation was that she would commission an investigation into the incident and the Central Electoral Office.
In a statement on 14 March, Crouch said she had confirmed plans to commission an independent review to be carried out in the “interests of transparency”.
Independent reviewer
On 3 April, the Governor’s Office said the governor had appointed Orrette Fisher to conduct an independent review on the advance voting process during Anguilla’s recent general election.
He was on island at the end of March to gather information from key stakeholders which he will use to compile a report.
This is expected to be delivered before the end of April. The governor will then publish a summary of its findings.
Jamaican national Fisher is a former director of elections at the Electoral Commission in Jamaica and a Commonwealth electoral observer in Antigua and Barbuda.
Now an independent consultant in elections management and training, several organisations have contracted him to provide consultancy, administrative and technical support.
These include the Commonwealth secretariat, the CARICOM secretariat, the International Foundation of Electoral Systems and the International Republican Institute.
