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OAS Mission Observes Voting Process in St. Vincent and the Grenadines General Elections

On invitation from the Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, an Electoral Observation Mission from the Organization of American States (OAS) observed the General Elections held in the country on December 7. Under the leadership of Ambassador Albert R. Ramdin, Assistant Secretary General of the OAS, the five member Electoral Observation team was deployed throughout the country, visiting 95 polling stations in thirteen of the country’s fifteen constituencies.

The Electoral Observation Mission thus observed all aspects of the voting process on Election Day including the opening of polling stations, voting throughout the day and the preliminary vote count at the closing of the polls. The Mission also observed the transport and delivery of the ballot boxes to Returning Offices.

From its observations, the OAS Electoral Observation Mission concluded that, despite some shortcomings and unfavourable weather conditions, yesterday’s elections unfolded in an atmosphere of tranquillity, which permitted the electorate to exercise its choices through the polls. In the opinion of the Mission, electoral authorities worked diligently to ensure that voters were able to cast their ballots according to the Constitution, Electoral Law and relevant regulations and that the votes were efficiently counted and reported to the Returning Officers of each of the thirteen constituencies observed by the Mission. The encountered inconsistencies were not systemic and did not jeopardize the transparency and the inclusive nature of the election. With this in mind, the OAS mission expresses its satisfaction with the conduct of the elections.

The Electoral Observation Mission congratulates the citizens of St. Vincent and the Grenadines on yesterday’s motivated display of civic duty. The elections proceeded without any major incidents and irregularities, giving testimony to the commitment of the people and government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines in the democratic process.

The OAS Mission maintained contact with the CARICOM Electoral Observation Mission led by H.E. Philip Smith and gratefully expresses appreciation for the coordination provided. The Observation Mission considers that the local electoral observation group, the National Monitoring and Consultative Mechanism (NMCM) also played a positive role in observing the electoral process.

The Mission extends its appreciation to the government and electoral authorities, political party representatives and the people of St. Vincent and the Grenadines for their cooperation and support. On the conclusion of its work, the Mission will present a verbal report and subsequently a final report to the Permanent Council of the OAS. The report will contain further details of the mission’s observations, as well as recommendations on strengthening the electoral process which might be considered by the electoral authorities.

Reference: E-284/05