BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – BISHOP Ron Dublin-Collins, Chairman of the National NGO Coalition, has expressed dissatisfaction with some elements of Election Day conduct, particularly in relation to non-resident voters and the perceived bias of the electoral system.
Dublin-Collins’ tripartite grouping, which consists of the Evangelical Association, Christian Council and the Chamber of Industry and Commerce, was offered the role of local observers by the Electoral Office. The Chamber declined to participate but members of the two religious organisations were seen at various polling stations on Election Day.
The Coalition was also represented during the long vote-counting process, which took over 12 hours to complete.
“There are a lot of things that were pointed out to us by persons and things we saw for ourselves,” Collins noted. “The issues included persons being registered to vote in places they had never lived, and concerns about the security forces and how they executed things, especially in Constituency Four.
“There was uneasiness about partial treatment by Presiding Officers to agents of certain political parties, persons voting more than once and persons who were allowed to stay in the voting lines while wearing political shirts,” Dublin-Collins said.
He added that there were also complaints about the limited knowledge of the law exhibited by members of the police force, as well as the “short-sightedness” of the management of the electoral system.
The Bishop said it was obvious to the general public that many of the persons serving as Electoral Officers were known activists of the incumbent St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP), which heightened “distrust and suspicion” in the system.
The Coalition will publish a report of its findings and observations in mid-February. Dublin-Collins chose to refrain from making any preliminary statement until that time, unlike the actions of the CARICOM and Organisation of American States (OAS) observers, who both disclosed that they were generally pleased with how the day went.
“I will not make any statement that the election was free and fair. We’re not at a point where we can make that analysis,” he stressed, adding, “The groundwork has begun. I don’t want to make any statement preliminarily that could backfire on us.”
The January 25 election saw the SKNLP win six of the eight St. Kitts electoral Seats while opposition the People’s Action Movement (PAM) claimed the remaining two.
Labour Party officials have insisted that the polling was free and fair, but PAM has alleged “serious irregularities” in the electoral system and is planning to challenge the results in three constituencies.
