OAS electoral observation mission begins deployment in SVG

The Electoral Observation Mission of the Organization of American States (OAS/EOM) began its deployment yesterday, ahead of the December 9 general elections in St Vincent and the Grenadines.{{more}}

The Mission is led by Ambassador Jacinth Henry-Martin, chief of staff to OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro, and is made up of 12 observers from 11 OAS member countries (Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Barbados, Ecuador, Guyana, Jamaica, Mexico,

St Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, and the United States).

This will be the fifth time an OAS team has observed elections in St Vincent and the Grenadines.

Chief of mission Henry-Martin and her team will be meeting with electoral authorities, representatives of political parties, government officials, and members of the media and civil society organizations, amongst other stakeholders, to discuss perspectives on the electoral process.

The mission expects to have a presence in all of St Vincent and the Grenadines’ 15 electoral districts. On election day, observers will visit polling stations across the country at every stage, from the opening of the polls to the counting of votes and the publication of results.

The day after the election, the OAS/EOM will present its preliminary findings in a press conference and will subsequently present a report to the Permanent Council of the Organization in Washington, DC.