For the purpose of the Elections two types of domicile are relevant. These are Domicile of Origin and Domicile of Choice. A person acquires Domicile of Origin from either of his or her parents at birth while Domicile of Choice is determined by the person and the country he or she chooses to reside in.
Generally if a person is of Montserratian parentage and does not abandon Montserrat as his Domicile of Origin, he can be said to be domiciled in Montserrat.
If a person abandons Montserrat as his Domicile of Origin and acquires a new place of “ordinary residence”, the place where he intends to remain indefinitely, this new place becomes his domicile of choice. (This applies also to a person from abroad who has taken up residence in Montserrat with the intention of remaining in Montserrat indefinitely).
Domicile of Origin falls into abeyance during the continuance of Domicile of Choice, and revives if a person abandons his domicile of choice and no longer intends to remain at his domicile of choice indefinitely.
To acquire Montserrat as his domicile of choice, person must be ordinarily resident in Montserrat with the intention of remaining in Montserrat indefinitely. To determine domicile of choice, a wide range of evidence is examined in order to evaluate a person’s intention. Among these are:
*Change of nationality
*Change of religion
*Change of name
*The purchase and ownership of land, family estates or graves
*The education, marriage or settlement life of the individual’s children.
No one piece of evidence is adequate in deciding on domicile of choice. The Electoral Commission makes every effort however not to disfranchise anyone who has the right to vote according to the law.
