Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Chief Election Officer, Dr. Lealofi Uiagalelei has set Oct. 27, as the date for the  “open meeting” of residents of Swain Island to select their Delegate to the local House of Representatives for a two-year term.

The meeting venue is the Election Office in Tafuna and Swains is currently represented by Rep. Sua Alexander Eli Jennings, who has been serving 7 consecutive terms, told Samoa News last Friday that he is planning to seek another term.

Local law requires the Chief Election Officer to give notice about the open meeting, or “special meeting” to all adult permanent residents of Swains Island who are U.S. citizens or nationals. The notice provides the date, time and venue of the open meeting.

As in the past, officials with the Election Office are present during the meeting, and serve only as observers while Swains Islanders carry out the entire process themselves. The election officials then present the final results of the meeting to the Chief Election Officer, who then makes the official announcement of the winning candidate.

During the meeting, names of individuals wanting to run for office are nominated by verbally submitting the person’s name for consideration. A Swains Islander plays the role of moderator for the process, which is considered a “selection”, rather than an election.

Those who support a candidate show their support by raising their hands — or standing up as in past cases — for the vote count. There are no official ballots printed by the Election Office.

In past elections, the Swains Island meeting is usually held before the general election and therefore are the first results of an election year.

REMINDER: deadline to register to voter in the general election is 4:30pm today, Tuesday, Oct. 9.