‘We are here to observe the process and form an impartial judgement’ – CARICOM Election Observation Mission
The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) has mounted a CARICOM Electoral Observer Mission to monitor the general elections to be held in Guyana on Monday 11 May, 2015.
The ten-member CARICOM Electoral Observer Mission is headed by Mr. Earl Anthony Simpson, Deputy Director of the Electoral Commission of Jamaica, with Ms. Josephine Amelita Tamai, Chief Elections Officer, Elections and Boundaries Department of Belize, as Deputy Chief of Mission. The other members of the Mission include experts in Electoral Management and Administration from Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago.
The Head of Mission released an Arrival Statement at a Media Briefing held at the CARICOM Secretariat in Georgetown on Friday 8 May 2015.
See Full Statement:
For CARICOM, election observation serves as a platform to support existing democratic traditions within the Caribbean Community as part of its wider policy of supporting democracy.
The CARICOM Electoral Observer Mission, which began assembling in Guyana on May 6, will meet with the Guyana electoral officials, leaders of political parties and other stakeholders. On the day of the Elections, the Mission will monitor the electoral process including the opening of the Poll, the voting process, the closing of the Poll and the counting of the ballots.
The Observer Mission will issue a preliminary statement based on its observations and findings. A Report of the General Elections will be subsequently prepared and submitted to the CARICOM Secretary General.