Durrant Pate/Contributor

The Jamaican election observer group Citizens Action for Free and Fair Elections (CAFFE) is today confirming that a number of its representatives were booted from counting centres during yesterday’s local government election.

Notwithstanding, while casting a red eye on the municipal polls, CAFFE has concluded that the elections were free, fair and were conducted within the law.

CAFFE Chairman Grace Baston, while livid at the experience of volunteers in which staffers from the Electoral Office of Jamaica (EOJ) placed several obstacles, thus preventing her observers from observing the counting yesterday, did admit that this might have been as a result of miscommunication.

Speaking on radio this morning, Bastion declared: “The obstacles were throughout the day. The volunteers not being able to witness the final count was the last straw of the hat. There were volunteers in the eastern parishes; certainly have this in St Mary, in St Ann, St James, where the volunteers first of all they couldn’t gain access to the polling stations because they didn’t have a letter from the EOJ well that wasn’t a requirement.”

Complaints from observers

She explained that contact was made with Director of Elections Glasspole Brown, who made concerted efforts to get the word out to his returning officers that this should not have happen. She reported getting complaints from about 25 volunteers.

Baston shared that the election observers, in some instances, were told outrightly that they may not see the count being done and would not be able to send information on the counting.

“It was unacceptable,” the CAFFE chairman lamented.

According to her, “It is clear to us that it was a communication problem… Few people, who misunderstand the rules….Clearly whatever went on in training for some people there was a complete misunderstanding of our of the right of the public to witness this count.“

Based on these development, CAFFE issued qualified report in which it concluded that the elections were free and fair. CAFFE had deployed 38 non-partisan roving observers and 339 indoor observers to polling stations covering all 14 parishes across the island on Monday.

In the statement issued some minutes after 8 o’ clock last night, the watchdog group said in 11 per cent of “polling stations reported on, observers were not permitted to monitor the final count”.