BASSETERRE, St. Kitts-ELECTION observers from the local, regional and international levels were on the ground for yesterday’s (Jan. 25) General Elections in St. Kitts-Nevis and initial reports indicate that the voting process was mostly carried out in an orderly and fair manner.
Observer teams from the Organisation of American States, the Commonwealth, CARICOM and the St. Kitts Evangelical Association and Christian Council were deployed throughout both islands to witness the large turnout of voters in the Federation’s 11 constituencies.
Speaking to SKNVibes, the Head of the Commonwealth Observer Mission, New Zealand Labour Party MP Chris Carter, said that he was mostly pleased with what he had seen during the morning hours.
“We have visited about nine polling stations so far this morning and we are hoping to get through as many as possible today. I have been really impressed with the numbers of people who have turned out because the weather is not so great,” he stated.
Carter said that enthusiasm for the political process was bountiful in St. Kitts from what he and his team had witnessed. The team was also comprised of former Commonwealth Secretary-General Krishnan Srinivasan and Antigua-Barbuda Supervisor of Elections Lorna Simon.
“People here in St. Kitts seem to be very passionate about this election and really keen to vote, which is good. It is also great to see some of the young people in the queues voting for the first time. I am really impressed with that,” Carter said.
While traveling to the various polling stations, Carter said that the Commonwealth team wanted to ensure there was access for voters and that the electoral laws of the Federation were being followed.
“We’re keen to see just how much participation is going on and all of those things so far seem to be going well,” he added.
Apart from speaking to the international observer teams, SKNVibes interviewed Evangelical Association President Bishop Ron Dublin-Collins at polling station 5 in Constituency Number Four, located at the Half Way Tree Community Centre.
The Half Way Tree polling station was an area of several clashes between supporters of the St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party and the People’s Action Movement throughout the day, but Dublin-Collins said in spite of everything voting continued to be carried out without official complaints to him.
“I think in terms of the line, there is not much of a problem with that. Of the actual voting inside the voting booths, I have not had any complaints or any reports of any irregularities per se.”
However, Dublin-Collins said that party supporters had kept tensions high in the area throughout the day for various reasons.
“I think the cause for tension seems to be objections to persons from both sides who they feel are persons that have been illegally registered from other constituencies. Persons have taken strong objections to that.
“Rather than voters for this particular constituency, what I am seeing is an incoming gathering of persons from other constituencies who may have heard that there was a situation. That will create further congestion in terms of vehicles and persons, and could cause other situations,” Dublin-Collins said.
The Bishop added that his organisation worked throughout the day to monitor any breaches in the electoral laws of the Federation.
The OAS is scheduled to hold a press conference today (Jan. 26) where their representatives are expected to deliver their initial insights after the completion of polling and the counting of the ballots in the 2010 General Elections of St. Kitts-Nevis.
