(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) The Core Team of the CARICOM Electoral Observer Mission arrived on 2 July 2008 followed by the rest of team on Friday, 4 July 2008 to monitor the General Elections on 8 July 2008. The Mission was deployed in all constituencies with the exception of Carriacou and Petite Martinique. The Mission would like to place on record that the group was able to cover 85 per cent of the polling stations in Grenada.
The Mission executed the tasks within the confines of its mandate to observe preparatory arrangements of the elections, observe the level of adherence to the electoral procedures and provide an assessment of the outcomes of the elections.
Within the first two days, the Mission attended political meetings of the three parties, the New National Party (NNP), the New Democratic Congress (NDC) and the Labour Platform. At these gatherings the leaders called for peace and also addressed the issues affecting the citizens of Grenada.
Discussions were also held with some of the other main stakeholders in the country namely, the Chairman of the Grenada Conference of Churches, the Grenada Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Civil Society, NGOs and Women’s Groups. The Mission would like to commend these institutions for the significant role they played in raising the awareness of the electoral process.
The Mission also met and shared information with the Organization of American States Observer team.
The Mission would like to highlight some of the issues that were observed at pre-poll, during and at the close of the poll.
The polling stations observed were opened promptly at 6 a.m. in accordance with the Electoral Law. The voters who queued in long lines for hours waited peacefully and patiently to exercise their franchise. During the poll and at the close of the poll all procedures were followed. The majority of the Parliamentary Electoral Office staff performed their duties efficiently in spite of a few minor infractions that did not negatively impact on the process.
The general view of the CARICOM Electoral Observer Mission is that General Elections 2008 in Grenada reflected the will of the people. The Mission praises the people for their commitment to the cause of keeping the democratic process alive.
The findings and recommendations of the Mission including suggestions for the improvement to the electoral process will be submitted to the CARICOM Secretary- General.
The CARICOM Electoral Observer Mission takes this opportunity to thank the Government of Grenada for the courtesies extended to the Mission. We would also like to express appreciation for the cooperation received from the Office of the Supervisor of Election and her staff, the Police, the Leaders of the Political Parties, the Media and most of all to the Drivers whose dedication afforded us the opportunity to perform our duties effectively.
