Chief Elections Officer Comes Under Fire for Alleged Elections Irregularities

Josephine Tamai

Chief Elections Officer Josephine Tamai has come under some scrutiny after a letter bearing today’s date accuses her of serious elections irregularities in the last stretch to the November fourth General Elections. In a nutshell, the letter, signed by P.U.P. Cayo Central Campaign Manager Horace Grant, claims that on Tuesday U.D.P. Chairman Alberto August entered the Elections and Boundaries office in Santa Elena and asked the registering officer to sign blank proxy forms. The registering officer allegedly refused, and that’s when August called Tamai, who then, according to the letter, was caught on speakerphone directing the officer to sign. It’s a very serious allegation and this evening Tamai told us that it’s not true – not exactly.

Josephine Tamai, Chief Elections Officer

“I was in a meeting when I was called…well one of the senior officers came into the meeting and she asked for an excuse and she mentioned that she had an issue whereby Mister August had called the office to inquire about a process, whereby he is claiming that he went to the Santa Elena office, which is responsible for the Cayo Central electoral division to take in an application form on behalf of somebody. My understanding was that the elector was there along with Mister August and the officer informed me that she had spoken to the acting registering officer at that time. And the registering officer told her that she was not going to sign the form because the form did not have…whereby…you would usually have to put in the duties assigned. It had the stamp, the signature of the Commissioner of Police on that form cause I will say at this point, it is a police officer and we won’t divulge any names for security purposes. And whoever persons chose to vote; that is their right. Whoever they take in to accompany them or whatever the case might be, that is the person’s right as well. And I will say that the senior officer from here informed me that asked the acting registering officer to sign the form because if it did not have the duties – you know it’s a police officer because the Commissioner of Police has already signed. And also, the Commissioner of Police did not put the date that he signed. So for those two things, it is something that we would never turn somebody back.”