Comments welcome on the usefulness of a version of this bill being taken to Parliament by one of our present Elected Members and its value to the development of Montserrat.

                           DRAFT

Voting rights of overseas Montserratians Bill 2023-2024

A bill to make provision for Montserratians overseas to take part in the electoral process through allowing them the right to vote

A Private Member’s Bill

The legislation:

Section 12 (1) of the Elections Act of Montserrat (Revised edition showing the law at January 1st 2019) states that to qualify to vote a person must have resided on Montserrat for thirty six months immediately preceding the date of registration as a voter or is domiciled in Montserrat and is resident therein at the date of such registration. 

The criteria used to define “is domiciled on Montserrat” is unprecise and potentially subject to bias. Returning Montserratians run the risk of having to spend 3 years on Montserrat prior being allowed to register to vote. This differs significantly from the approach to Caricom Nationals on Montserrat who after only one year of residing on Montserrat are allowed to vote. 

What this bill proposes:

This bill proposes an amendment to section 12 (1) of the elections act to read: –

To qualify to vote a Montserratian must have previously resided on Montserrat. 

Population constraints:

Montserrat has a dwindling population estimated at under 4000 persons. It is well recognised that this small population inhibits the development of a successful local private sector in the absence of overseas investors. Since volcanic eruptions in the 1990s thousands of Montserratians have migrated for safety, employment and education. Having settled abroad Montserratians still passionately love Montserrat, their homeland, and have done their best to maintain the connection and many have asked to be more involved and to feel included, particularly in the electoral process. 

The benefits:

Allowing Montserratians the right to vote in local general elections on Montserrat would be beneficial to the island for the following reasons: 

Widening the pool of voters may introduce objectivity and reduce bias resulting in more appropriate candidates being selected at local elections.
Montserratians overseas once granted the right to vote are more likely to become involved in the discussion on the development of Montserrat, broaden the conversation and add new perspectives which would be beneficial to the development of Montserrat.
With the right to vote Montserratians overseas will feel more confident investing money  locally as they now have a part to play in selecting the leaders which drive development and progress for the island.

Paragraph 51 of the Montserrat constitution order states that in order to qualify as an elected member of Parliament on Montserrat the Montserratian would need to have been on Montserrat for at least 12 months during the 5 years immediately preceding the date of his or her nomination for the election (51,3,c).  If having qualified to vote through the proposed new clause of “having once resided on Montserrat”, a Montserratian would need to spend only one year on Montserrat over a 5 year period to be allowed to become a member of Parliament. There would be huge benefit to widening the pool of candidates for a general election as this pool would now include persons with experience and education in a wide variety of areas that would hugely benefit the island – financial banking, education, medicine, science, law. We could potentially see our economy soar with our other sectors equally benefiting.
Passing this bill would result in a level of inclusivity felt by Montserratians which would encourage repatriation. Repatriation is vital to the success of the local economy.

No disadvantages:

There are no negative impacts for Montserrat if this bill is enacted. It may receive some negativity from local politicians who may prefer the smaller pool of local voters who they perceive as being easier to bribe and blackmail. Some politicians may feel nervous about competing in a general election with the calibre of candidate we may find in the Montserrat diaspora.

Stipulations:

Although stipulations can be made to gage a Montserratian’s true interest in the island and in the electoral process it is likely that without such stipulations only Montserratians who are serious about the island’s progress will register to vote once allowed.

Be it enacted in this present Parliament assembled and by authority of the same that section 12 (1) of the elections act be amended to read: To qualify to vote a Montserratian must have previously resided on Montserrat.