Head of the Commonwealth Observer Group, Sir Paul Tovua, yesterday called on all political parties, voters and the media to ensure T&T maintains its reputation for holding peaceful and credible elections. He was speaking during a news conference at the Hyatt Regency, Port-of-Spain, yesterday. The group arrived in Port-of-Spain on Sunday at the invitation of Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and will monitor and report of Monday’s poll.
He said T&T had a track record of “credible elections and the Commonwealth is committed to continuing its support of the country’s democratic processes.” He said the six-member group was supported by four professional members of staff from the Commonwealth Secretariat.
“We will assess whether the election has been conducted according to the standards for democratic elections to which Trinidad and Tobago has committed itself, including the constitutional framework and national legislation, as well as Commonwealth and other international commitments,” he said, adding that the group “will be objective, independent and impartial.”
The group has already met with the Elections and Boundaries Commission, the police, the main political parties—the United National Congress (UNC) and the People’s National Movement (PNM)—and intends to meet with other political parties and interest groups, including a separate team of observers from Caricom later this week.
“The aim is to ensure we gain a clear and comprehensive understanding of the election process and the electoral environment,” he added. He said tomorrow, teams will be deployed to San Fernando, Mayaro, Port-of-Spain and Tobago to observe the election environment and preparations for election day. He said on Monday the group will observe the opening and closing of the polls, the polling itself, counting of votes and transmission of results.
Sir Paul said the group would issue an interim statement of key findings shortly after the election “and before our departure on September 11 we will prepare our final report.” He said the Commonwealth Observer team stood in solidarity with the people of T&T as they exercise their democratic right to vote for the leaders of their choice.
The delegation includes the editor-in-chief of the Searchlight publication of St Vincent and the Grenadines, Clare Kaizer; former attorney general of the Bahamas, Alfred Sears, QC; executive director, Democracy Watch, Taleya Rehman, from Bangladesh; executive director, Commonwealth Youth New Zealand, Aaron Hape; and electoral officer, Mawethu Mosery, from South Africa.