§ Mr. Jannerasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his policy on the issue of overseas voters registration forms to(a) political parties, (b) voluntary organisations and (c) other bodies; what guidance he gives to such bodies concerning matter sent out with such forms; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggOur policy is to make overseas electors' declaration forms as widely available as possible to political parties, voluntary organisations and other bodies. We would not wish these bodies, apart from party political organisations, to distribute the forms with party political material, and we are reviewing the need for guidance to be given to that effect. We are aware of only one case where this has occurred.
§ Mr. Jannerasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what complaints he has received concerning alleged abuses of procedures for the registration of overseas voters.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggApart from the complaint by the hon. and learned Member in his letter to me of 8 March, none.
§ Mr. Jannerasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons have so far applied for registration as overseas voters; in which countries; in respect of which constituencies; and by what means such forms were made available to them.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggThe table has been prepared by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on the basis of information from posts abroad. It shows the total number of people whose applications for registration as an overseas elector in the 1987 register have been attested by consular or other authorised staff, and the country in which the application was attested.
Information is not available on the constituencies in respect of which applications were made. However, I am sending to the hon. Member a table prepared by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys from returns made by 530W electoral registration officers, which provides this information in respect of overseas electors whose names are included on the 1987 electoral register. There is no record of the means by which each overseas elector obtained a declaration form, but we expect that most forms were obtained from British posts abroad.
531W
Electoral registration overseas: 1986 (for electoral register coming into force 16 February 1987) Number of attestations Number Afghanistan 9 Algeria 7 Angola 4 Anguilla 3 Antigua and Barbuda 18 Argentina 2 Ascension 0 Australia 228 Austria 78 Bahamas 71 Bahrain 127 Bangladesh 22 Barbados 36 Belgium 331 Belize 7 Bermuda 34 Bolivia 3 Botswana 142 Brazil 77 Brunei 127 Bulgaria 4 Burma 3 Cameroon 19 Canada 99 Caymen Islands 34 Chile 6 China 63 Colombia 5 Congo 1 Costa Rica 8 Cuba 2 Cyprus 193 Czechoslovakia 2 Denmark 36 Dominica 5 Ecuador 8 Egypt 83 Equatorial Guinea 1 Ethiopia 36 Falkland Islands 24 Fiji 59 Finland 14 France 507 Gabon 24 Gambia 11 German Democratic Republic 2 Federal Republic of Germany 444 Ghana 33 Gibraltar 14 Greece 148 Grenada 10 Guatemala 4 Guyana 6 Honduras 0 Hong Kong 311 Hungary 2 Iceland 1 India 43 Indonesia 145 Iran 6 Iraq 34 Ireland, Republic of 58 Israel 54 Italy 237 Ivory Coast 21 Jamaica 36 532W
Number Japan 114 Jordan 47 Kenya 181 Kiribati 3 Korea, Republic of 44 Kuwait 135 Lebanon 0 Lesotho 40 Liberia 20 Libya — Luxembourg 46 Madagascar 4 Malawi 54 Malaysia 147 Malta 59 Mauritius 18 Mexico 15 Mongolia 1 Montserrat 2 Morocco 15 Mozambique 14 Nepal 43 Netherlands 243 New Zealand 141 Nigeria 80 Norway 138 Oman 332 Pakistan 37 Panama 0 P.N.G. 215 Paraguay 9 Peru 45 Philippines 62 Poland 18 Portugal 113 Qatar 193 Romania 0 St. Helena 8 St. Kitts and Nevis 2 St. Lucia 20 St. Vincent 15 Saudi Arabia 811 Senegal 38 Seychelles 10 Sierra Leone 55 Singapore 284 Solomon Islands 36 Somalia 2 South Africa 499 Soviet Union 11 Spain 1,573 Sri Lanka 38 Sudan 14 Swaziland 23 Sweden 53 Switzerland 206 Syria 2 Tanzania 82 Thailand 84 Tonga 2 Trinidad and Tobago 23 Tunisia 15 Turkey 45 Turks and Caicos Islands 2 Uganda 35 United Arab Emirates Abu Dhabi 234 Dubai 225 United States of America 656 Uruguay 4 Vanuatu 13 Venezuela 19 Vietnam — Virgin Islands, British 2 Yemen Arab Republic 26 Yemen, Peoples Democratic Republic 6 Yugoslavia 5 Zaire 18
Number Zambia 102 Zimbabwe 99 Total 12,207