WASHINGTON, USA: Grenada’s general elections of this
past July 8 left “very positive” impressions on the
Organization of American States (OAS) election
observers, Assistant Secretary General Albert Ramdin
confirmed in a preliminary report delivered to the
Permanent Council Tuesday. It was the third time that
the OAS was observing a Grenadian election.
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Assistant Secretary General Albert Ramdin
delivers preliminary report by the OAS Electoral
Observation Mission in Grenada |
The OAS Member States
hailed the report and congratulated the people of
Grenada for their demonstrated commitment to the
democratic process, in which the Tillman Thomas-led
National Democratic Congress (NDC) won 11 of the 15
parliamentary seats at stake, the remaining four seats
going to Keith Mitchell’s New National Party (NNP).
Members of the OAS Electoral Observation Mission were on
hand for Thomas’ July 9 swearing-in as Prime Minister of
Grenada.
An eight-point proposal was included in the OAS report,
highlighting recommendations for the Parliamentary
Elections Office to take a more visible, ongoing role in
voter education and outreach to a variety of political
stakeholders “to promote the democratic process at all
times, not merely in the election period.”
Ambassador Ramdin, who led the OAS Electoral Observation
in Grenada, told the member countries’ ambassadors in
the OAS Permanent Council that anxieties expressed by
various political stakeholders prior to the elections
“proved unfounded.” The OAS team of election monitors,
numbering 38 on Election Day, had visited all polling
stations at least once -- and some twice or three times
during the day -- and concluded that “the environment in
which citizens voted was orderly and peaceful,” Ramdin
told the Permanent Council meeting, chaired by Belizean
Ambassador Nestor Mendez.
“There were no reported instances of unruly behavior or
of intimidation of voters at polling sites or of any
serious irregularities,” Ramdin added, pointing as well
to an “extremely high” voter turn-out, estimated at more
than 80 per cent.
In his detailed report on what the OAS monitors observed
of the process that culminated in the July 8 general
elections, Assistant Secretary General Ramdin commented
on the orderly conduct of poll workers and others
involved, noting that polls closed promptly at 5:00 p.m.
and, “as at the opening, electoral officials followed
the proper procedures carefully and efficiently.”
The OAS Electoral Observation Mission also noted
“relatively few areas in which it felt that the
electoral process in Grenada could be improved.” The
Mission recommended that in order to improve the system,
an accurate voter’s list should be produced at an early
date; all political parties and civil society should
collaborate to agree on conduct during election
campaigns; and that a cross-party accord on campaign
financing and media access would be useful to promote
transparency and accountability. In response to their
requests, the OAS confirmed its commitment to helping
civil society organizations in Grenada as they seek to
build capacity “to assume a broader ongoing neutral role
in monitoring and debating governance issues.”
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Grenada's Ambassador Denis Antoine responds to
the report |
Ambassador Ramdin
specially acknowledged the “crucial financial
support” and observers provided by the governments
of Canada, China, the United Kingdom and the United
States to facilitate the Electoral Observation
Mission in Grenada. In addition to the team members
and the OAS Office in Grenada, Ramdin also thanked
St. George’s University in Grenada as well as the
University of the West Indies for providing
observers.
Grenada’s Permanent Representative to the OAS,
Ambassador Denis Antoine, stressed that in observing
last week’s elections, the hemispheric organization
witnessed “democracy in action.” The process of
general elections affirmed that democracy is alive
and well in Grenada, Antoine added. He also thanked
the OAS for its continued engagement with Grenada,
and said that the Electoral Observation Mission’s
recommendations were well-received.
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