Voters’ list figures not too high

Editor: Many are of the view that the number of names on the voters’ list is much too high in comparison with the 2001 census. I beg to disagree.

The census gives a count of the number of persons present here in St. Vincent and the Grenadines on census night. It does not take into account Vincentians who are overseas. {{more}}The voters’ registration list, on the other hand, includes names of Vincentians who are living overseas once they have returned home at least once in the last 5 years.

To my mind, there are probably ten to 20,000 Vincentians overseas who return home on a regular basis.

The 2001 census puts our population at 106,253. If we assume 70% of these persons are adults, that gives us 74,377 persons who are eligible to vote. The voters’ list at present has in excess of 88,000 names. That gives us a difference of 13,623. I think this difference can easily be accounted for by Vincentians who are resident overseas.

B. Seaton