Caribbean Community (CARICOM) electoral observer mission to St Vincent and the Grenadines arrival statement

(CARICOM Secretariat, Georgetown, Guyana) The CARICOM Electoral Observer Mission was mounted in response to an invitation by the Government of St Vincent and the Grenadines to send an Observer Team to monitor the conduct of the General Elections to be held on Wednesday, 07 December 2005.

The five-member Observer Mission comprises:

His Excellency Philip Smith, High Commissioner of The Bahamas to Canada, Chief of Mission; Mr. Eugene G. Petty, Former Programme Manager, CARICOM Secretariat, Deputy Chief of Mission; and Ms Mignon E. Bowen, Project Officer, CARICOM Secretariat, Administrative Officer to the Mission as the Core Group, and the other Observer Group Members are, Mr. Hensley Robinson, Former Chief Elections Officer, Barbados and Mr. Leroy Benjamin, Supervisor of Elections, St Kitts and Nevis.

The Core Group arrived on Thursday, 01 December 2005. The other members of the Observer Mission arrived on Sunday 04 December. The five-member Team will be deployed mainly on St Vincent due to the constraint of the size of the Mission. However, such deployment should enable the Mission to observe the Elections in thirteen Constituencies, which represent some 93 percent of the total registered voters or electorate. The CARICOM Electoral Observer Mission will depart the country on 10 December 2005.

The main functions of the Observer Mission are to monitor the preparations for the Elections, and comportment of electoral officials and political stakeholders; and observe the electoral process, including the conduct of the Poll and the counting of the ballots. The Mission is also required to assess the outcome of the elections and its impact on the political environment; and prepare a Report to the Secretary-General of CARICOM on the Mission’s findings.

In carrying out its assigned functions, since arriving in St Vincent and the Grenadines, the CARICOM Electoral Observer Mission met with His Excellency, the Governor General and held discussions with the Prime Minister and representatives of the Unity Labour Party, the Leader of the Opposition and representatives of the New Democratic Party, as well as the Leader of the Green Party.

The Observer Mission held extensive discussions with the Supervisor of Elections, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of National Security, and the Commissioner of Police. Discussions were also held with representatives of the Media and of civil society, including the Youth Council and the National Monitoring and Consultative Mechanism. The Mission also attended rallies of political parties.

The discussions with the representatives of political parties, electoral officials, the Police, the Media and civil society have provided the Mission with a better understanding of the issues and an appreciation of concerns relevant to the preparation for, and conduct of, the Elections, including the controversy surrounding the enumeration and the registration of voters particularly during the 15-day period after the Writ of Elections had been issued, as well as the size of the Voters List and the use of a new type of ballot paper.

The CARICOM Electoral Observer Mission is therefore of the view that through extensive discussions and consultations with the stakeholders in the General Elections, and the witnessing of the Elections first hand, the Mission will be able to make an objective assessment of the outcome of the Elections and issue a Preliminary Statement based on the observations and findings.

The CARICOM Electoral Observer Mission is pleased to gratefully acknowledge the cooperation received from representatives of the various stakeholders in the General Elections, and the logistical support obtained from the Ministry of National Security.