A ten-member Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Election Observation Mission (CEOM) is already on ground in Jamaica to observe the conduct of the Caribbean country’s General Parliamentary Elections scheduled to hold on Wednesday, September 3, 2025.
The CEOM was constituted following an invitation to CARICOM by the Chairman of the Electoral Commission of Jamaica to field the Mission, and the announcement of the date of the election by the Prime Minister of the country, Dr. the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, according to a statement by Ms. Fern Narcis, Chief Elections Officer of the Elections and Boundaries Commission of Trinidad and Tobago, who is the Chief of the Mission.
The statement stressed that the members started arriving Jamaica on August 27, 2025 and are all presently in the country. They will depart on September 5, 2025 after the elections, and after issuing a Preliminary Statement on their observation of the electoral processes.
Since arriving Jamaica, they have held meetings with the Prime Minister and Leader of the Jamaica Labour Party, Dr. the Most Honourable Andrew Holness as well as with Senator the Honourable Kamina Johnson Smith, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade. They have also observed the conduct of the Advance Poll at several locations in Kingston, the capital of the country.
The Mission will continue with its programme of engagements in the coming days, meeting with the Opposition political parties, the Electoral Commission of Jamaica, the Commissioner of Police, and as many other stakeholders of the electoral process as time will allow them.
The statement listed other members of the Mission as: Mr. Clovis St. Romain, Commissioner, Electoral Commission and Ms. Elisa Graham, Public Relations Officer, Electoral Commission (Antigua and Barbuda); Ms. Denise Pinder, Assistant Parliamentary Commissioner, Parliamentary Registration Department (The Bahamas); Mr. Arthur Pierre, Supervisor of Elections, Parliamentary Elections Office (Grenada); and Ms. Alymphia Lionel, Assistant Chief Elections Officer, Electoral Department and Mr. Peter Kervin Fedee, Systems/Network Administrator, Electoral Department (Saint Lucia).
Also among the members are Ms. Danielle Williams, National Security Electoral Quality Assurance Clerk, Electoral Office (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines); Ms. Anushka Ramesar-Gopalrai, Alternate Member, Independent Electoral Council, and Mr. Ravin Jiawan, District Commissioner and Alternate Member, Independent Electoral Council(Suriname); and Ms. Danielle Chow, Commissioner, Election and Boundaries Commission (Trinidad and Tobago).
The CEOM, which will, after its preliminary statement, prepare a detailed Independent Final Report for submission to Dr. Carla Barnett, the Community’s Secretary-General, is being supported by three CARICOM Secretariat staff – Mr. Brian Bellevue, Programme Manager, Foreign and Community Relations; Mr. David Allens, Project Officer, Foreign and Community Relations; and Ms. Denise Morgan, Stenographer II, Foreign and Community Relations.
The Observers, on election day, are to observe the electoral process across Jamaica, “including preparations for the start of the poll, the casting of votes, the closure of the polling stations, the counting of the ballots, the preparation of the statement of polls and the tabulation of results.
“Qualitative and quantitative information regarding the voting process and the results will be collected to facilitate the preparation of an Independent Final Report on the General Parliamentary Elections to Jamaica with the objective of assessing its transparency, fairness, and adherence to accepted democratic standards,” the statement stressed.
It concluded that the “CEOM looks forward to supporting the democratic processes of Jamaica and extends best wishes to the Jamaican people as they prepare to go to the polls with pride and unity on Wednesday, 3 September 2025.”
