Speaking in parliament Friday, government House leader Colm Imbert suggested that there is a disconnect between the numbers from the independent Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) and the increase in the population.
Imbert was piloting a motion seeking affirmation of the EBC's 2009 report.
He noted that the review of the boundaries in the 2009 report has recorded an increase in the electorate of over 104,198 voters between 2004 and 2009. But he said that is inconsistent with the "drastic and profound" changes in the number of registered voters.
He quoted statistics to argue his point:
- In 1986 the electorate was 861,621
- In 1991 it was 756,902, a decline of 104,000 decline
- Between 1991 and 1996 the electorate increase to 836,000
- Between 1996 and 2000 it increased again to 938,000
- In 2004 it dropped to 908,000"
Imbert noted that the EBC figures show that in the last five years the number of eligible voters in the country crossed one million but that does not tally with the population census data.
He said his research shows that the country has not experienced any unusual increase in the birth rate and that based on the difference between births and deaths the figures would suggest an increase of 8,000 people annually, assuming that there is no emigration.
But the said the EBC figues show an increase of 20,000 each year. Imbert said that conflicts with official statistics that show a stable population with an additional one to one and a half per cent increase annually.
Imbert said the EBC must explain the discrepancy.
He is unhappy with the explanation that the EBC registers teens while they are at school and automatically add them to the list once they reach the age of 18. Based on that formula, the EBC list grows at the average of 18,000 a year.
He said that "does not appear to be feasible or scientifically possible."
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