The Electoral and Boundaries Commission (EBC) is preparing to remove 8 291 names from the national register of electors as part of a major clean-up following Barbados’ first full enumeration exercise in more than 30 years.
Chairman and King’s Counsel Ramon Alleyne announced the move during a media briefing on Saturday at Warrens Towers, St Michael, saying the commission’s goal is to produce the cleanest and most accurate register in decades.
Of the names slated for removal, 4 923 belong to individuals who have been overseas for more than five years, while 3 368 are confirmed deceased. Alleyne stressed that these categories are clearly defined in law and must be addressed.
However, he assured the public that no elector will lose their place on the list simply because an enumerator did not reach their home. “Let me make it very clear. No one is going to be deleted off of the voters list because they did not see an enumerator. That is not the process,” he said, urging individuals to take responsibility for confirming their details.
The names earmarked for removal will be published on the EBC’s website and in local media over the next two weeks. Alleyne encouraged families to review the information carefully and alert the commission to any errors. “Please check these lists and come back to us and say that my cousin is actually still in Barbados. He came back and he should be on the voters list. My mother, she should be there. We need to get this information, and we can only get it as clean as possible with the assistance of the population,” he said.
Although no one knows when the next general election will be called, Alleyne noted that the commission’s months-long effort will ensure that whenever the time comes, the register will be as accurate as possible. “Our officers will still be doing their investigations in terms of where persons are. We are hopeful that we would get a number of persons sending in forms and we will get a change of address. This process will continue going forward,” he added.
The national enumeration exercise, conducted from August to September 2025, involved enumerators and postal workers going door-to-door to verify voter information. Additional registration centres were opened, and circulars were issued to residents to check their status.
Alleyne said this was necessary to deal with long-standing concerns. “We wanted to ensure that this was the cleanest voters list that we have had in quite a while,” he said, noting that no full enumeration had been done in Barbados for more than three decades.
He also reminded the public that corrections can be made up to election day. “Right up until the time of the election, people have the opportunity to correct mistakes in the voters register and this is why we keep coming to the public,” he said.
Alleyne praised commission staff, postal workers and temporary workers for their hard work, describing the task as essential to democracy. (DT)
