Election observer teams arrive for February 19 polls

By Linda Straker

Three organisations have each sent an election observer team to Grenada for the February 19 General Election, which will see 45 candidates contesting to take one of the 15 seats in the House of Representatives.

The Organisation of American States (OAS) Election Observer Mission arrived in Grenada on Monday, while the Commonwealth and CARICOM teams were set to arrive on Wednesday.

Commonwealth Secretary General, Kamalesh Sharma, announced on Tuesday that a Commonwealth Election Assessment Team will be deployed for the February 19 elections in the Caribbean island state of Grenada, following an invitation from Prime Minister Tillman Thomas.

“The Commonwealth is pleased to lend its support to the people of Grenada as they exercise their democratic franchise in electing their leaders. Credible electoral processes lie at the heart of democracy, a fundamental value to which the Commonwealth attaches great importance,” the Secretary-General said.

The three-member team will be led by Irfan Abdool Rahman, Electoral Commissioner of Mauritius. He will be supported by two staff members from the Commonwealth Secretariat’s Political Affairs Division. The team will be present in Grenada from February 13 to 24.

In the lead-up to the poll, the teams will meet with relevant stakeholders, notably officials responsible for organising the elections, representatives of political parties, civil society, and other international groups present for the election.

The teams will conduct an analysis of the overall management of the electoral process and the environment in which the election takes place, according to the national, regional and international standards for democratic elections to which the country has committed itself. Upon completion of its duties, the team will submit a report to the Commonwealth Secretary-General.

More than 62 000 persons are registered to vote in the elections. The main contending parties are the incumbent National Democratic Congress led by Tillman Thomas and the New National Party led by former Prime Minister, Dr. Keith Mitchell.