New Supervisor of Elections to be sworn in tomorrow

A NEW SUPERVISOR of elections will take the Oath of Office at Government House tomorrow.

The official, whose name has not yet been made public, will replace Sylvia Findlay, who spent her last day on the job yesterday, April 30.

Findlay, who was sworn in on January 26, 2009, said in an interview with NBC Radio yesterday that despite the challenges, her tenure has been a rewarding experience. She said during her first year in office, she was charged with the responsibility of implementing a new identification card issuing system, as well as conducting the referendum on constitutional reform in November 2009.

The outgoing supervisor disclosed that her replacement will be a retired public officer, and she offered some advice. “I think we bring to the job a level of experience and expertise which allows us to be very flexible and to adjust to whatever the situation is, in which we find ourselves. I really would just want to say to the incoming supervisor that this job is not going to be the easiest in the world, but the Supervisor of Elections has a specific role, as mandated in the Representation of the People Act 1982, that guides the performance of that position. And so, as long as the provision of the Act governing the electoral system in the country is understood and is implemented, there should be no problems.”

When she took up the post of Supervisor of Elections in 2009, Findlay had recently retired as a secondary school principal, after a 37-year stint in the public service. She replaced Rodney Adams, who had spent a little over five years in the position.

After the 2015 General Elections, Findlay and other elections officials were named as respondents in an election petitions case brought by Lauron Baptiste and Benjamin Exeter who contested the North Windward and Central Leeward seats respectively, for the New Democratic Party (NDP). The case is still before the court and is scheduled to resume in September, 2018.

OUTGOING Supervisor of Elections – Sylvia Findlay