CARICOM Election Observation Mission on the ground in Dominica

Since arrival, meetings were held with Honourable Roosevelt Skerrit, Prime Minister of Dominica and Members of the Cabinet, the Speaker of the House of Assembly, the Commissioner of Police, and the Registrar General.

The observer mission that CARICOM has mounted for elections in Dominica on Friday is already on the ground and has met Prime Minister, the Hon. Roosevelt Skerrit, members of his Cabinet and other key officials.

Ms. Josephine Tamai, Chief Elections Officer of the Elections and Boundaries Department of Belize, heads the 11-member CARICOM Election Observation Mission (CEOM). Ms. Tamai and support staff from the CARICOM Secretariat arrived in Roseau on 2 December. The other members of the  team will arrive on Wednesday.

The role of the CEOM is to observe the electoral process, collect qualitative and quantitative information regarding the voting process and the results to facilitate the preparation of an Independent Final Report on the General Elections of The Commonwealth of Dominica.

Please see the CEOM’s Arrival Statement:

ARRIVAL STATEMENT

CARICOM ELECTION OBSERVATION MISSION

TO THE GENERAL ELECTIONS OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF DOMINICA

06 DECEMBER 2019

In a letter dated 6 November 2019, the Honourable Roosevelt Skerrit, Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Dominica, wrote to the Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), His Excellency Ambassador Irwin LaRocque, inviting CARICOM to field a CARICOM Election Observation Mission (CEOM) to observe the conduct of the General Elections which will be held in the Commonwealth of Dominica on 6 December 2019. In response to the invitation, the Caribbean Community mounted an eleven-member Election Observation Mission (CEOM) to observe the General Elections.

The CEOM is headed by the Chief of Mission, Ms. Josephine Tamai, Chief Elections Officer of the Elections and Boundaries Department of Belize.

Other members of the CEOM are –

Mr. Anthonyson King – Antigua and Barbuda

Mr. Philip Turner – The Bahamas

Ms. Pauline Morgan – Barbados

Mr. Rohan Porter – Jamaica

Mr. Andrew Smith – Jamaica

Ms. Zita George-Leslie – Saint Lucia

Ms. Dora James – St. Vincent and the Grenadines

Ms. Stephanie Bram – Suriname.

The CEOM is supported by Mr. Jhonson Alexandre and Ms. Helen Marshall of the Foreign and Community Relations Directorate of the CARICOM Secretariat.

The role of the CEOM is to observe the electoral process, collect qualitative and quantitative information regarding the voting process and the results to facilitate the preparation of an Independent Final Report on the General Elections of The Commonwealth of Dominica.

The Chief of Mission and support staff of the CARICOM Secretariat arrived in The Commonwealth of Dominica on 2 December 2019 while the remaining Observers will arrive on 4 December 2019. Since arrival, meetings were held with Honourable Roosevelt Skerrit, Prime Minister of Dominica and Members of the Cabinet, the Speaker of the House of Assembly, the Commissioner of Police, and the Registrar General. Meetings are ongoing and over the next few days, the Mission will meet with the Leader of the Parliamentary Opposition (UWP), the Electoral Commission, the Leader of the Dominica Freedom Party (DFP), the Chief Immigration Officer, the Attorney-General, and other stakeholders including representatives of the Concerned Citizens Movement, the Electoral Reform Effort Group and a wide cross-section of Civil Society Organisations. These meetings are being held in an effort to provide the CEOM with an idea of the atmosphere and level of preparedness for the election.

The CEOM will continue to observe the pre-election period and the Election Day activities including the opening of the polls through to the tabulation and announcement of the results.

Following the conclusion of the Election Day activities on 6 December 2019, a Preliminary Statement will be issued outlining the Mission’s initial assessment of the electoral process. The Mission will thereafter prepare a detailed Independent Final Report on the election for submission to His Excellency Ambassador Irwin LaRocque, Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community.

The CEOM is extremely grateful for the warm welcome given to the team by the people of the Commonwealth of Dominica and looks forward to supporting the democratic process in the Commonwealth of Dominica and the CARICOM Region.

Best wishes to the people of the Commonwealth of Dominica as they prepare to go to the polls on Friday 6 December 2019.

JOSEPHINE TAMAI,

CHIEF OF MISSION

4 DECEMBER 2019

ROSEAU, DOMINICA

Source: CARICOM TODAY