Observing Caribbean Elections During the Pandemic: Challenges and Best Practices
| Autor | Lisa Vasciannie |
| Cargo | Ph. D. Senior Lecturer. Department of Goverment. The University of the West Indies, Mona (Jamaica) [lisa.vasciannie@uwimona.edu.jm]; [https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1486-4315]. |
| Páginas | 217-237 |
Lisa Vasciannie
224
OASIS, ISSN: 1657-7558, E-ISSN: 2346-2132, N° 37, Enero - Junio de 2023, pp. 217-237
efforts to curtail the spread of the virus, govern-
ments across the region imposed restrictions
on the freedom of movement, and assembly
among others. This effort to manage public
health safety with individual rights and free-
doms was a tight and delicate balancing act.
COVID-19 measures included: curfew hours-
restriction on movement during specific hours,
physical distancing, work from home orders,
online school, and mask mandates.
Around the globe, COVID-19 mitigating
measures implemented by governments com-
plicated their decisions on whether to hold
or postpone elections. Some countries such
as South Korea (International IDEA, 2022)
proceeded with success creating a blueprint
for how to administer elections in a pandemic.
The WHO and several other organizations ha-
ve since published guidelines on the best prac-
tices for elections during this period (WHO,
2022; Commonwealth, 2022). Elections
involve in person, physical and sometimes
crowded interactions, that if carried out under
normal procedures would inevitably worsen
the spread of COVID-19. These guidelines for
all phases of the election are therefore not just
useful, but critical to the containment of the
virus and for ensuring public safety.
When faced with the decision on whether
to postpone or hold elections, the majority
of Caribbean countries proceeded with the
poll. Some, such as Jamaica, the Bahamas and
Barbados called elections early, but within the
constitutional timeframe (Commonwealth,
2022). The pandemic resulted in the exclusion
of traditionally invited observer teams from
Table 2.
Caribbean elections held January 2020-June 2022
Country Date Held Observers (pandemic)
Guyana 2 March 2020 Carter, OAS, Commonwealth, Caricom
St. Kitt s & Nevis 5 June 2020 Caricom
Trinidad & Tobago 10 August 2020 None
Jamaic a 3 September 2020 None
St Vincen t & the Grenad ines 5 Nov 2020 Caricom
Belize 11 November 2020 Caricom
Saint Lucia 26 July 2021 Commonwealth, Caricom, OAS
The Bahamas 16 September 2021 OAS , Common wealth, C aricom
Barbados 19 Jan 2022 None
Grenada 23 June 2022 Caricom, OAS
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Observing Caribbean Elections During the Pandemic: Challenges and Best Practices
OASIS, ISSN: 1657-7558, E-ISSN: 2346-2132, N° 37, Enero - Junio de 2023, pp. 217-237
DIVERSAS PROBLEMÁTICAS
the OAS and Commonwealth in all but three
elections—in Guyana, Saint Lucia, and The
Bahamas. These also had a regional presence
from Caricom, which was also the sole obser-
ver team in two elections --St Kitts and Nevis
(June 2020) and Belize (November 2020).
CHRONOLOGY OF ELECTIONS:
JANUARY 2020-2022
Ten out of twelve Caribbean countries held
elections during the two years of the pandemic.
Guyana’s elections were conducted just as the
pandemic started and before there were any
established protocols for travel or voting. None
of the other elections held in the remainder of
the first year of the pandemic had international
observers. Some countries invited observers
but as the proceeding discussion will show,
the observation missions did not materialize.
Internation al teams included the OAS (Guya-
na, Saint Lucia, Bahamas), the Carter Center
(Guyana), the European Union (Guyana) and
the Commonwealth (Guyana, Saint Lucia Ba-
hamas). The regional organization, Caricom
observed elections in (Guyana, St Kitts and
Nevis, Belize, Saint Lucia, and The Bahamas).
It was not until September 2021 that the OAS
and Commonwealth observed elections in
the Bahamas. Hence, the enduring role of the
regional organization, Caricom, will be ad-
dressed below.
GUYANA-MARCH 2020
The Guyana (2020) elections were contentious
before they even started, following a success-
ful no confidence vote in 2018. Guyana’s oil
discovery in 2015 has the country poised for
significant economic growth. These factors
along with Guyana’s history of racially acrimo-
nious and generally contentious elections and
less than favorable “verdicts” from successive
teams of international observers set the stage
for a tense and high stakes election. Elections
were held on 2 March 2020 with observers
from Caricom, the Commonwealth, the Eu-
ropean Union, and OAS.
Observer teams highlighted a few areas
for improvement in the administration of the
election. The OAS noted the polarization and
tensions in the electoral authority, GECOM,
and recommended a restructuring of the or-
ganization (OAS, 2020). There were changes
in the location of some polling places that
allegedly disproportionately affected the oppo-
sition. In general, these and other problems in
the election were similar to those identified in
2015. These included improving the flow and
speed of voting through a standardized verifi-
cation of voters while one person votes. Also,
they involved introducing more elements of
technology and automation such as “a central
computerized results receiving centre, the di-
gitization of electoral results, making tabulated
results available online—highlighting transpa-
rency” (OAS, 2020). GECOM was also urged
to revise and modernize campaign financing
legislation and undertake a “comprehensive
reform of voter registration” (p. 7).
ELECTIONS HELD IN 2020
Five other Caribbean countries held elections
for the remainder of 2020—St Kitts Nevis
(June), Trinidad and Tobago (August), Jamaica
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