Last Updated on June 4, 2020, 2:29 AM AST by Anthony Morris
The Commonwealth Secretary-General says the decision of prime minister Dr Timothy Harris to impose a 14-day quarantine requirement on a Commonwealth Observer Team has made it impossible to send an observer mission to monitor the June 5 general elections.
In a June 2, 2020, letter to The Right Hon Dr Denzil L Douglas, Political Leader of the St Kitts-Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP), Commonwealth Secretary-General, The Right Hon Patricia Scotland QC said that on May 27, 2020, the Commonwealth Secretariat was informed by the Government of St Kitts and Nevis “that the Health Authorities have established a protocol which, in an effort to protect the populace from COVID-19, requires all travellers to be placed in a 14-day quarantine; and that given the number of days before the elections, an election observer mission would not be possible.”
Baroness Scotland continued: “in accordance with the values enshrined in the Commonwealth Charter, the Commonwealth recognizes the inalienable right of the individuals of participating in the democratic processes, in particular through free and fair elections towards shaping the society which they live in. In this connection, the Commonwealth Secretariat continues to monitor developments in St Kitts and Nevis.”
Baroness Scotland said she appreciated the respect and admiration that Dr Douglas expressed for the global standard of expertise that the Commonwealth has set for election observance and in this connection his hope that the Commonwealth would have had the opportunity to observe the 2020 General Elections in St Kitts and Nevis.”
The use by Prime Minister Harris that an Organisation of American States (OAS) Mission would also have to be quarantined has also led to the absence of an OAS Observer Mission.
OAS Secretary General Almagro said that “OAS/GS regrets that a practical solution was not put in place like it was done in the case of Suriname to allow OAS observers to deploy in St Kitts and Nevis.
Suriname was the first country in the region to organize an election under the current COVID -19 conditions on May 25, and it served as a model for the region.
CARICOM said its election observation serves as a platform for supporting the existing democratic traditions within the Caribbean Community as part of its more comprehensive policy of supporting democracy and good governance.
Anthony Morris covers stories related to politics and regional developments. His in-depth reporting about governance and reforms makes him stand out in regional journalism, with a deep analysis of political trends and their impact on Caribbean communities.
