Permanent Representative of Grenada to the OAS, Gillian Bristol and OAS Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza on Wednesday signed an agreement which outlines the conditions for the work of the Electoral Observation Mission that will be monitoring the February 19th general elections.
An OAS team arrived in Grenada at the end of last month to conduct an assessment of the country’s voting system and another group is scheduled to arrive to observe the polls.
“This will be the fourth time we have observed elections in Grenada, and I’m sure this election will be as successful as the others,” Insulza said.
He said that, though the preparation time for the observation team would be brief, he was “certain that we will be present in, if not all, at least in most of the 15 constituencies that are being contested in the election by the major parties.”
More than 62,000 Grenadians are currently registered to vote in the election while 46 persons are contesting to become members of the House of Representatives. The National Democratic Congress and the New National Party are the two main political parties contesting the elections. Only these two have named candidates for each of the 15 constituencies while the minority parties have named candidates for between one and three constituencies.
“We are looking forward to the usual vibrant campaigning period, although it is short, but also to an excellent turnout on February 19 in the entire tri-island nation that is Grenada, Carriacou, and Petite Martinique,” Bristol said.
