CARICOM election observer mission chief satisfied of readiness for polls

Based on her interactions with various stakeholders, the Chief of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Election Observer Mission Cynthia Combie-Combie-Martyr says she believes that Guyana is ready for Monday’s polls.

Approximately 17 persons will be monitoring the March 2nd general and regional election as part of the CARICOM Election Observer Mission, which is being mounted in response to an invitation by Minister of Foreign Affairs Karen Cummings to the Secre-tary General of the CARICOM Irwin LaRocque.

They are being led by Combie-Martyr, who serves as the Chairperson of the St. Lucia Elec-toral Commission, is a former acting High Court judge of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court.

The remaining 16, who are experienced management experts, are: John Jarvis and Carolyn Thomas-Parker from Antigua and Barbuda; Phillip Turner from the Bahamas; Lesa Collins and Leonard Walters from Barbados; Eileen Boyd-Knight and Jennifer Astaphan from Dominica; Yves Edouard from Haiti; Glendon Bennett and Lenworth Sterling from Jamaica; Gasper Baptiste from Saint Lucia; Fern Narcis-Scope and Noel Kalicharan from Trinidad and Tobago; Renuka Raghoe from Suriname; Sylvester King from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; and Lionel Osbourne, Saint Kitts and Nevis’ Ambassador to CARICOM.

During a media briefing at the CARICOM Secretariat Head-quarters, Combie-Martyr said most of the team arrived on Thursday and two members were expected to arrive yesterday. As a result, at the time of the briefing, Combie-Martyr noted that they were unsure which polling stations they would visit. She also said they were awaiting experts who they have invited to assist them in determining the places they can get the best coverage from.

The main role of the CARICOM Election Observation Mission, Combie-Martyr said, is to observe the electoral process, collect quantitative and qualitative information and observations of the voting process and the results, observe and assess the outcome of the elections and its initial impact on the social and political environment and the preparation of a final report on the elections, which will include recommendations as the mission deems fit.

She added that she arrived on February 24 and has since held meetings with the Chairperson and members of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), the Chief Election Officer Keith Lowenfield, representatives of A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic, The Citizenship Initiative, The Liberty and Justice Party, The New Movement, the United Republican Party, Change Guyana, A New United Guyana and the Organisation for Victory of the People. Combie-Martyr revealed that one party expressed concern that GECOM had not addressed the joinder of lists and how they will deal with the allotment of seats and votes. She said that she contacted Lowenfield regarding that issue and he assured her that he would endeavour to speak with the commission and see if they can come up with a solution.

In addition, Combie-Martyr said she also met with the Commissioner of Police Leslie James, who expressed belief that elections will be free of violence. Nevertheless, she said, he assured them that the Guyana Police Force is prepared to deal with any incidents of violence or security issues that may arise before, during or after elections. Further, she noted, she was told that the police will not be armed.

Other stakeholders that she met include the president and members of the Guyana Trades Union Congress, the Guyana Public Service Union, the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union, the Private Sector Commission, the Guyana National Youth Council, and members of other election observation mission.

Based on her interactions with the various stakeholders, Combie-Martyr said she is satisfied that Guyana through GECOM will be ready for elections on Monday.

She added that the mission was to meet with the Ethnic Relations Commission and the religious bodies. Additionally, she said that in an effort to obtain an overview of the general political atmosphere and the level of preparedness for the electoral process, the mission’s members will attend final political rallies, continue to observe the pre-election period and monitor and observe activities on Election Day, which includes voting procedures and counting of ballots.

In conclusion, Combie-Martyr stated that following the end of Election Day activities, the report of the observers will be shared during a de-briefing session after which she will present her preliminary statement to the media, outlining the mission’s initial assessment of the electoral process. She will then begin preparing her final report for submission to the Secretary-General of CARICOM.