News Americas, WASHINGTON, D.C., Tues. Feb. 17, 2015: The Electoral Observation Mission of the Organization of American States (OAS/EOM) in St. Kitts and Nevis, led by Ambassador Frank Almaguer, has congratulated Prime Minister-elect Timothy Harris and the St. Kitts and Nevis Team Unity for the victory in yesterday’s General Election.
They have called on all to respect the official results announced by the electoral authorities.
The Mission observed that the counting and transmission of results was extremely slow, stemming from a series of procedural difficulties. More than 12 hours after the closing of the polls, there was no information on the outcome of the election, leading to speculation and uncertainty among Kittitians and Nevisians, said a statement.
The Mission noted that the delay in the dissemination of results was related to two main issues. First, counting started late due to instructions given to returning officers with regard to the transportation of the ballot boxes of the early voting, carried out on February 14 for essential services personnel and security forces. Second, challenges were presented during the counting process and some of the results were being contested.
Despite the problems encountered after the closing of the polls, the OAS/EOM said it “was pleased to observe that in general, Election Day was carried out in an orderly and pacific manner.”
They urged priority should be given to a calm and orderly transition while recommending that the technical and procedural issues observed during this electoral process should be addressed during a post electoral period.
