Forty participants from Caricom member states, the Caricom Secretariat, the United Nations as well as other regional and intergovernmental organisations are currently being trained in how best to conduct electoral observations.
This regional workshop on Building Resources in Democracy, Governance and Elections (BRIDGE) is the result of a partnership between the Caricom Secretariat and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). It intends to facilitate the sharing of experiences and good practices among participants.
During the workshop several issues will be addressed. These include why and how to observe elections, international obligations and principles for election observation, the impact of observations, latest trends and challenges in the area of election observation and how to promote women’s participation through election observation.
Speaking at the opening of the workshop UN Resident Coordinator Khadija Musa noted that while the UN rarely observes elections anymore it is a strong supporter of the Declaration Principles for Internal Election Observation and is pleased to offer support in facilitating the exchange of experiences and good practices on election observation among regional organization, which it sees as better positioned to conduct observations.
“Credible, genuine and inclusive elections are necessary to consolidate democracy and promote human rights…a s well as playing an important role in bringing about sustainable democracy and development in societies,” she said.
Musa added that while it is the responsibility of sovereign states to ensure periodic and genuine elections that reflect the will of their people, the international community and regional organizations should when requested be willing to step in to support nationally owned and led efforts for peaceful, credible and inclusive elections.
Deputy Secretary General of Caricom Manorma Soeknandan, reminded participants that the Caricom Charter of Civil Society entrusts its leaders “to ensure the existence of a fair and open democratic system through the holding of free elections underpinned by an electoral system in which all can have confidence and which will ensure the free expression of the will of the people in the choice of their representative.”
“Election observation,” she said, “is therefore an essential element of Caricom’s efforts to promote and maintain its democratic values. It builds the public’s confidence in the electoral process and assures them that the process is transparent and that the rights of the participants are protected.”
She added, “The recommendations from the electoral observation teams when implemented are also useful to the electoral offices in reviewing, updating systems and also building capacity.”
Addressing the room of mostly men, Soeknandan expressed pleasure at the fact that “on the eve of International Women’s Day, [they] were going to pay attention to gender aspects within the context of election observations, as women are a majority stakeholder in the election processes.” According to her, these men must be integrally involved in promoting women’s participation in the election process.
The first Caricom Electoral Observer Mission was launched in 2000. Since that time more than 25 missions have been mounted with team members traditionally being either chief election officers or election commissioners drawn from member states.
