Candidates form long queues to attest application forms for council election

Large numbers of people looking to compete in the local council election have started to queue in front of State offices to attest their application forms from the relevant authorities as proof of lack of a criminal record or unpaid debt, a requirement by the Elections Commission for the election to be held 18 January 2013.

The applications must be cleared by Department of Judicial Administration, Department of Penitentiary and Rehabilitation Services, the Criminal Court, High Court and the Supreme Court before they can be submitted to the Elections Commission.

Criminal Court said that, in contrast to the usual amount of about 30 forms per day, the court has been receiving 350 to 400 requests since the Elections Commission opened for local council applications on Monday.

During the country’s first local council election held on 5 February 2011, the Elections Commission had accepted applications along with a declaration admitting that the candidate had a clean criminal record. However, the commission’s has tightened the criteria for the 2014 election by making it mandatory for every candidate to have their application forms cleared by the relevant authorities.