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ABANDONED BUILDINGS, DEAD BUSINESSES, DEAD DEMOCRACY?
Dameon Lawrence Blasts Govt, Confronts Electoral Office Over Voters Lists Posted on Long-Defunct Properties

BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS — The controversy surrounding the government’s shocking rollback of electoral transparency has deepened further, as documentary and photographic evidence now confirms that voters’ lists for Central Basseterre were posted—or purportedly posted—at properties that no longer exist, are totally abandoned, or are linked to individuals long deceased.

People’s Labour Party (PLP) Deputy Leader Dameon Lawrence has formally engaged the Electoral Office after official polling division notices listed locations that, in reality, are overgrown ruins, unsafe structures, or fictional points on today’s landscape—a revelation that has intensified public concern about access, competence, and intent in the management of the voters’ registry.

The official posting list for St. Christopher 2 (Central Basseterre) names multiple sites that are either structurally abandoned, erased by time, or wholly disconnected from current reality, raising serious questions about whether voters were ever meant to reasonably access the lists at all.

DOCUMENTED NON-EXISTENT AND ABANDONED LOCATIONS

Based on official Electoral Office listings and on-the-ground verification, the following locations were cited as posting sites despite their current status:

• Shopwise – Cayon Street
  Once a commercial landmark, Shopwise has been closed for decades. The property is now totally abandoned, overgrown, and in a state of disrepair, posing potential health and safety risks. No active business exists at the location.
• Arrindell’s Restaurant – Dorset
  Closed for decades, the former Arrindell’s Restaurant property is long abandoned, visibly deteriorated, and unused. The structure no longer functions as a restaurant or public space of any kind.

• Keith Morton Grocery
  Keith Morton has been dead for nearly 40 years, and the supermarket bearing his name no longer exists. There is no functioning grocery, signage, or identifiable public location tied to that name in present-day Central Basseterre.
• Bertrand Brookes Shop – Market Street
  The business no longer exists, and there is no operating shop at the listed location.
• Benjamin’s Shop – Thibou Avenue
  The shop no longer exists, with no identifiable business operating under that name at the address.
• Procope’s Residence – Greenlands
  Mr. Procope has long been deceased, and the property is no longer Procope’s residence, nor does it function as a recognizable or accessible public location.

Taken together, these listings paint a disturbing picture: voters were directed to dead businesses, abandoned buildings, and locations disconnected from reality, at a time when the Electoral Office has simultaneously abandoned online publication of voters’ lists altogether.

A BAFFLING RETREAT IN A DIGITAL AGE

The revelations are even more alarming given that, until recently, St. Kitts and Nevis facilitated online access to voters’ lists, allowing nationals at home and abroad to verify their registration quickly and efficiently. That system has now been scrapped in favour of an archaic physical posting model, one that critics say belongs to the 1960s—not 2026.

In this case, however, the regression goes further. It is not merely rum shop doors or outdated notice boards—but ruins, bush, and empty shells.

LAWRENCE: ‘LACK OF FORESIGHT IS A GLARING ONE’

Lawrence did not mince words as he confirmed formal engagement with the Electoral Office to demand immediate corrective action and systemic reform.

“Old ways should not stifle modern improvements,” Lawrence declared.

He continued:

“Recent announcements were made to return to the practice of posting annual voters registry, in two locations of each polling division, in each constituency. While a useful method, it bears too many limits.

The lack of foresight is a glaring one. Thousands of people being accommodated by a few locations spread over the breadth of a constituency is, at the very least, ineffective.

The locations chosen must also represent a broad appeal to the public. Listing abandoned buildings and lacking specifics for the address falls far short of appropriate.

In Central Basseterre, constituents are asked to visit locations that are health hazards. These locations are also least in appeal for the general public’s natural flow of movement.

We have begun to engage the Electoral Office to seek improvements to this situation. At the end, we hope both appropriate physical locations and online options can be utilized. More details to come.”

ACCESS BY DESIGN—or OBSTRUCTION BY DEFAULT?

Political analysts argue that whether by incompetence or indifference, the result is the same: reduced access, increased confusion, and diminished transparency. With no online list and physical notices tied to locations that do not exist, the process raises uncomfortable questions about whether voter access is being actively discouraged by inconvenience.

As pressure mounts and evidence continues to surface, the Electoral Office and the government now face growing demands for explanation—and correction.

Because in any democracy, voters should not have to search through ruins to find their rights. clear line—and the country is watching closely.