history, Independence, and a constituency boundaries review pending, eligible voters are urged to register this year.

The Parliamentary Registration drive got into full swing this week as Government mailed out registration forms to all 26,537 households on the Island.

And Registrar General Mrs. Marlene Christopher yesterday stressed that it was important for eligible voters to register.

She noted that an accurate count of the number of eligible voters was needed by the Boundaries Commission.

The commission will be meeting at the end of the registration period to determine whether or not constituency boundaries need to be changed, an exercise that by law must take place within every seven years.

Therefore, the registration campaign will be more intensive this year.

Mrs. Christopher said householders who do not return a registration form by early February will be mailed a second form as in previous years. But in addition to the two mail-outs, canvassers, on March 9, will begin visiting householders who have failed to return their forms by the first week in March.

The Registrar General stressed, the aim is to register as many eligible voters as possible through the mail-out process and to have the canvassers visit only those householders who fail to return a form.

"I would like to urge all heads of households to complete a parliamentary registration form as soon as they receive it, remembering to include every member of their household,'' Mrs. Christopher said.

"Those households where there are no eligible persons must return a form as a nil return. This lets us know that these households have been contacted.'' Last year, 34,637 people registered to vote.

The average increase in voters over the last four years since the voting age was lowered to 18 years is 223. It is estimated that the number of eligible voters is approximately 35,000.