Commission and the Health Services Board established by the
Health Services Act [Chapter 15:16] (No. 20 of 2004) and the
responsible authority of any statutory body or council shall second
to it such persons in the employment of the State, the statutory body
or the local authority as are necessary to hold such offices and
perform such functions as the First Respondent may direct during
an election. The Electoral Act also provides that the First First
Respondent shall select, screen and train all persons seconded to
it. In respect of persons being seconded from the Public Service or
other statutory bodies, I contend that in the interest of transparency,
the First Respondent must publish the names of such persons as
soon as they have been seconded, and must also stipulate the
guidelines which will be used to select and screen such persons.
28.
There is no doubt that the Applicants, as well as the public,
have an interest in knowing the names and selection criteria for
persons who will be tasked with working for the First Respondent
during an election, including during registration of voters. I contend
that the constitutional requirement that elections must be conducted
transparently should be interpreted to mean that the First
Respondent must disclose the selection criteria and names of
persons who have been seconded to the First Respondent to
perform its functions during an election.
13