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Importance of election observers

4/21/2025

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Members of the Caricom election observer mission advance team: Irvin Brown, Shae-Alicia Lewis, deputy chief Dora James, chief Ian Hughes, Angella Prendergast and Serojnie Seetaram. - Photo by Paula Lindo

DESPITE the general absence of major issues in past elections, the early request of former prime minister Dr Rowley to Caricom and the Commonwealth to deploy an independent observer presence in the April 28 election was sound and sensible. The opposition had made repeated calls for independent observers.
In all, three requests were made by the sitting government for election observers, with missions from Caricom and the Commonwealth. The Carter Center was unable to deploy a mission.
Both missions have been active since arriving in the country. In its first two days on the ground, the Caricom observer mission had met with the UNC, the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC), the Prime Minister, the PNM, the NTA and civil society groups as an opening act.
The eight-member Caricom team is led by Ian Hughes, the supervisor of elections in Antigua and Barbuda.
The Commonwealth observers are led by Evarist Bartolo, former foreign affairs minister for Malta and includes Guyanese journalist Nazima Raghubir.


The teams began their familiarisation discussions with representatives of political parties and the EBC, as well as the media, soon after their arrival in TT.
Already, a minor hiccup involving a voting box for special voters in San Fernando East caused enough concern that international bodies overseeing the electoral process would provide useful assurances that this country's normal voting process accurately reflects the will of its electorate.
The UNC has taken its running concerns about the EBC to mission observers who have been measured in their responses.
The two observer missions will formulate their own strategies for observing the 12 hours allocated for voting, but they have a lot of ground to cover.
The Aranguez/St Joseph electoral district alone has 19 separate polling stations, and larger, more sparsely populated districts will have polling stations established at some distance from each other.
This is a hotly contested election. While much of the most visible fire has been brought to the campaign by the sitting PNM and opposition UNC, a total of 161 candidates have offered themselves to voters across 17 political parties, though five parties are represented by a single candidate and three are independents.
In this electoral space, there is a brewing storm of disinformation, vandalism, and political dirty tricks, but it is the polling process, the procedures at voting booths, and the tabulation of votes that are paramount on Monday.
Election observer missions normally operate when the electoral process is considered credible and sound. The impact of observers and their eventual report is nuanced and subtle.
Observers cannot see everything, but they will offer a perspective that is unequivocally untainted by party affiliation or loyalty, and their reports will be an important addition to the 2025 election.


The presence of independent observers providing oversight underlines this country's commitment to a fair, transparent democratic process. (Source: Newsday, April 26, 2025)


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  • HOME
    • About >
      • TTAO EXECUTIVE 2021-23 >
        • Executive Archives 2018-2019
        • Executive Archives 2017 - 2018 >
          • Past Presidents of the TTAO
        • TTAO PROJECTS
        • Chaconia newsletters >
          • 2019 issues
        • Membership form
        • SCHOLARSHIPS OFFERED AND CALL FOR APPLICATIONS 2024 >
          • 2024 Scholarship Winners >
            • 2023 Winners
            • SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS 2014 - 2022
            • 2018 Winners of CLR James Scholarship
  • PHOTOS
    • 2025 >
      • Photo Arhives >
        • 2024 >
          • 62nd independence day celebration
          • Jamaica vs Trinidad comedy battle and food festival
          • Children's carnival 2024
        • 2020 >
          • Photos - Carnival 2020
        • 2019 >
          • Republic day, Sept 21, 2019
          • Trinbago Day August 2019
          • Carivibe 2019
          • Night at the Races 2019
          • Indian Arrival/African Caribbean Emancipation dinner 2019
          • Hero the movie April, 2019
          • Farewell to Vanessa Ramhit-Ramproop
          • Carnival 2019
          • National Disaster Flood Relief for TT
      • 2018 >
        • Community Builder Award >
          • C hildren's Christmas party 2018
          • Parang, Nov. 2018
          • Ottawa Food Bank 2018
          • Presentation to TTAO President
          • Trinbago Day, Aug 19, 2018
          • Health and Wellness Seminar(s) 2018
          • T&T Carnival 2018
          • Calypso Rose Jan 2018
        • 2017 >
          • Inspiration Village June 17, 2017
          • Photos Post Carnival Fete March 25, 2017
          • Photo archives
          • Childrens Christmas party 2017
          • 55th Independence Day Gala
          • Canada 150 Celebration/Trinbago Day >
            • TrinbaGold 2012 >
              • Carnival 2012
          • Folklarama 2017
          • Day at the Races June 22nd
          • Indian Arrival Day & Emancipation Celebration June 10, 2017
          • Photos - Carnival 2017
          • Activities of the TTAO in the 80's and 90's
        • 2016 >
          • Children's Christmas Party 2016
          • Trinbago Day 2016
          • TTAO All Inclusive Party 2016
          • GM June 2016
      • 2015 >
        • Children's Christmas Party 2015 >
          • Christmas 2011
      • Videos >
        • Indian Arrival Day & Emancipation Celebration June 10, 2017
        • 40 YEARS OF TTAO
        • Children's Christmas Party 2018
        • Trinbago 2014
        • Trinbago Day 2017
        • Children's Christmas Party 2016
        • Trinbago Day 2016
        • Soca Parang Lime Nov 27, 2016
  • News & Info
  • More
    • Job Opportunities
    • Local trini restaurants
    • Letters of Appreciation
    • National Disaster T&T
    • Our country
    • Trini movies/videos
    • Trini books/authors
  • Contact Us