ANTIGUA – ELECTIONS
WASHINGTON, Jul 10, CMC – The Organization of American States (OAS) Electoral Observer Mission (EOM) to Antigua and Barbuda has presented its final report on the recently held June 12 general election.
The OAS has made several recommendations, “with the purpose of supporting the continuous efforts of Antigua and Barbuda to strengthen their democracy and electoral system”.
The final report was presented to the Permanent Council on Wednesday by the Chief of Mission, Rosina Wiltshire, who underscored “the extraordinary commitment of women and men, noticeable in the large number of citizens who waited to cast their vote resulting in an extremely high turnout that reached 90.27 percent”.
According to the OAS, Wiltshire stressed the need to publish voter lists outside each voting center; have votes counted under adequate supervision and the transmission of electoral results through computer networks; and the design and publication of an updated website, “to better promote information about the electoral process”.
The Chief of Mission also recommended, “Restitution of the continuous registration process by the Antigua and Barbuda Electoral Commission; the promotion of reforms to address the low level of representation of women as candidates; and legislative actions to increase transparency in the financing of campaigns and political parties”.
Wiltshire said during the pre-electoral period, the mission met politicians and NGO representatives, many of whom had concerns about the high level of spending on campaigns, the low level of representation of women as candidates, the imbalance of voters across constituencies, the absence of a process of continuous registration, the delivery of new voter identification cards, and the need to name a seventh member of the Electoral Commission.
OAS Secretary General, José Miguel Insulza, thanked the Chief of Mission for her work and that of the EOM, highlighting the points in the report, “that demonstrate the need to constantly improve elections – a very important issue for the region”.
