With just a few months before the 2017 General Elections, Global United Fellowship President Bishop Neil Ellis on Friday expressed deep concern about the low number of individuals registered to vote.
The latest count brought the number to 56,823 out of 150,000 plus eligible voters.
Bishop Ellis said this low number can be attributed to a combination of reasons.
“I think the sluggish economy has gotten some people discouraged from registering. I think a lot of people are discouraged with leadership from various sides. They don’t feel enthusiastic about any particular party and so that’s discouraging some people,” he said.
“A lot of people are unemployed, and things are very lethargic right now and so people are saying I don’t know if it makes sense to do this,” said Bishop Ellis.
“This is what I’m trying to kill. So whatever the situation is, I feel you right there. With the passage of Matthew too, there are some people who are just getting their houses sorted out and they’re not thinking about anything else. I understand all of that and I feel them, but I want to encourage them to not miss this opportunity to register and to have a voice,” he added.
Bishop Ellis’ sentiments came as he sought to lead by example as one of the registrants at the Mall at Marathon.
“I want to just ensure that our people understand the importance and the significance of having a voice. If you don’t register, you won’t have a voice. And if you don’t register, you have no legitimate reason to complain. So we’ve got to understand that this is an opportunity for us to make our voice heard and really mean something in the country,” the bishop said.
“I don’t want people to continue to procrastinate. I want them to get on out and register. We’re in the Westminster system, which means unlike the republican system where we know the second Tuesday in November is election. We don’t know when the prime minister is going to wake up one morning and dissolve the house. So you need to be in a state of readiness,” he insisted.
Parliamentary Commissioner Sherlyn Hall recently called for more individuals to get registered.
There are seven locations available for residents to register.
These locations include the Town Centre Mall, The Mall at Marathon, the Elizabeth Estates, Carmichael and Cable Beach Post Offices, National Insurance headquarters on Baillou Hill Road and at the Parliamentary Department, Farrington Road.
