As the electoral registration period drew to a close yesterday, there was a steady flow of visitors to all Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) offices as last-minute checks were carried out to ensure people were included on the revised list of electors.
A visit to the EBC head office at Scott House, Frederick Street, Port-of-Spain, just after 9 am yesterday revealed many had sought assistance regarding various issues.
Confirming there are approximately 1.1 million people eligible to vote in the general election which will be held on September 7, the EBC's corporate communications manager Dominic Hinds said there had been "increased activity during the last two days" at all EBC offices around in T&T.
The registration period began on July 14 and closed at 6 pm yesterday.
Hinds said the nine-day period excluded last Saturday's public holiday as the nation celebrated the Muslim festival of Eid-ul-Fitr.
Happy to report there were no significant challenges encountered by EBC staff, Hinds assured all members of staff had been professionally trained in a variety of areas and were successfully equipped to address any and all concerns by the public.
According to the EBC's election rules, the revised list of electors should be prepared sometime before the day fixed for the examination of nomination papers.
Following an invitation by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar for a Commonwealth observer team to visit T&T to assess the preparations ahead of the general election, Hinds confirmed that a meeting had been held with the three-member delegation yesterday.
He said the meeting at Scott House focused on issues relating to "election matters."
Persad-Bissessar issued the invitation during last month's Caricom Heads of Government Summit in Bridgetown, Barbados, when the heads met with Commonwealth secretary-general Kamalesh Sharma.
The last time a Commonwealth observer group visited T&T was for the 2000 general election.
Revealing that preparations already were underway for a second team to arrive in T&T, Hinds said they would arrive as the election date drew closer.
Asked about the meeting, Hinds said preliminary discussions with the team had been "positive."
Hinds was unable to say how many people had been removed from the electoral list owing to death and migration. He said that figure was not readily available and would be calculated post- registration.