A Commonwealth Observer Group (COG) including Papua New Guinean diplomat Winnie Kiap will be deployed to various locations across Trinidad and Tobago as the country prepares for its parliamentary elections on 28 April.
This election marks 100 years since the country cast its first vote in 1925.
Six other observers led by the former Foreign Affairs Minister of Malta, Evarist Bartolo, join Winnie Kiap, a seasoned diplomat and chairperson of the Commonwealth Foundation.
With expertise in electoral management, law, human rights, and media, the Commonwealth group will provide an assessment of the election’s credibility, transparency, and inclusivity.
They will evaluate the electoral process as a whole and the country’s adherence to its own standards, international, and Commonwealth values.
The COG has met with numerous stakeholders, including political parties, independent candidates, the police, civil society groups, the media, regional observers, and the diplomatic corps.
The mandate of the COG, as outlined in the Commonwealth is Revised Guidelines for election observation, is to observe and evaluate the pre-election environment, polling day activities, and the post-election period.
The Group will be divided into small teams and deployed to different parts of the country to observe electoral preparations and meet with local stakeholders in their respective locations.
On Election Day, they will observe the opening, voting, closing, counting, and results management processes. Following the election, the COG will issue a preliminary statement on 29 April.
They will then compile a final report to be submitted to the Commonwealth Secretary-General, Honorable Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, which will be shared with relevant stakeholders and the public.
Through electoral support, the Commonwealth works to strengthen electoral democracy and election management bodies, institutions, and processes.
The Commonwealth Secretariat helps member countries strengthen democratic institutions and processes, enabling citizen participation and representation during elections.
This is achieved using the full electoral cycle approach in engagement with member countries.
Members of the Commonwealth Observer Group:Chairperson: Honorable Evarist Bartolo, former Foreign Affairs Minister of Malta
The Commonwealth Observer Group members, in alphabetical order by country name, are:
- Mr. Ian Michael Anthony, Former Chief Elections Officer, Dominica
- Ms. Nazima Raghubir, Journalist, Guyana
- Mr. Orrette Tyndale Fisher, Election Management Expert, Jamaica
- Mr. Aiman Rasheed, Deputy Program Director, International Republican Institute, Maldives
- Ms. Winnie Anna Kiap, Chair, Commonwealth Foundation, Papua New Guinea