PAP official worried over roll delay

THE slow progress in the updating of the common roll by the Electoral Commission is affecting plans by political parties to confirm their candidates.
People’s Action Party general secretary Simon Bole said the candidates needed to be registered in the common roll and the parties needed to verify that first.
“Political parties need to check in the common roll the (names of) candidates for the election,” he said.
Bole said political parties and members of parliament had a genuine concern over the common roll update delay by the commission.
“We are in a situation whereby some of our candidates do not have their names on the common roll,” he claimed.
He said there had been instances in the past where a candidate won the election only to have it declared null and void because he was not registered on the common roll.
“It is a situation that can haunt both the political parties and candidates as the matter can be challenged in the court of disputed returns after the election.”
Bole said the motion by MPs to defer the election was for the common good so that all eligible voters could participate in the election.
“Members of parliament have been mandated by the people to be legislators. They make laws for the sake of the country,” he said.