Published 25th June 2020
Buckie Got It, St. Kitts and Nevis News Source
The NGO Coalition that observed the recent general election in St. Kitts and Nevis has reported that the voting process was free and fair, and free from fear.
The coalition comprised representatives from the St. Kitts Christian Council, the St. Kitts Evangelical Association, the Nevis Christian Council, the Nevis Evangelical Association and the St. Kitts and Nevis Chamber of Industry and Commerce. The members travelled throughout St. Kitts and Nevis on June 05, 2020, visiting various polling stations and observing the subsequent ballot counting.
During a briefing on Wednesday, June 24, 2020, at the Headquarters of the St. Kitts and Nevis Chamber of Industry and Commerce, copies of the NGO Coalition Final Report of the Election Observation Mission were made available for public consumption. Mario Phillip, a representative of the Nevis Christian Council and the Nevis Evangelical Association, read the executive summary from the Final Report.
He noted that the activities on polling day “met the commitments and standards which have come to be expected and associated with democratic elections for the process to be described as free and fair and free from fear.”
The report added that voters were “deeply committed to casting their votes” and the polling was conducted in “an atmosphere of peace and non-violence.”
Concerns were expressed about several organizational and administrative deficiencies. However, the report stated that the cases did not impact the will of the majority of the electorate.
“Such deficiencies did not affect the general outcome of the elections,” Mr Phillip said, reading from the Final Report.
Elvin Bailey, Supervisor of Elections, thanked the NGO Coalition for its service to the country. He singled out the faith-based institutions for once again allowing their facilities to be used as polling stations as has been done in previous election cycles.
“Let me reiterate…my profound thanks and that of the [Electoral] Commission to the churches, individually and collectively, to the Christian Councils and the Evangelical Associations, and the coalition of the willing,” Mr Bailey stated at the briefing. “I am looking forward, for the period of time that I have left as the Supervisor of Elections, to building even stronger relationships with you and the other willing persons to ensure that our democracy progresses in the way it ought to progress.”
