OAS recommends uniformed procedures to avoid voting delays

Thursday, February 23, 2012

THE Electoral Observation Mission (EOM) of the Organisation of American States (OAS) has recommended that Jamaica adopt a "uniform process" at polling stations to prevent voting delays during elections.

The recommendation is contained in a report presented to the organisation's Permanent Council yesterday.

"Poll workers were generally well trained and the vote proceeded smoothly. However, the inconsistent application of the procedures generated delays in some polling stations," Chief of Mission, Belize Foreign Minister, Lisa Shoman wrote in her report.

Shoman said that greater attention should be placed on "the location and layout of polling sites to allow for improved access by the physically challenged and elderly.

"Some polling sites contained multiple polling stations in relatively cramped areas, other centres in which more than 6 polling stations were located in one room or the nature of some polling sites also presented difficulties for access by the physically challenged and the elderly," she noted.

She also recommended that quality control be incorporated into the verification process used in identify-ing voters.

"It is important to note that the inclusion of new technologies in the voter verification process require careful handling to function correctly, even if the system will be used only to verify [a] voter's identity... It is recommended to use dampen and lint-free cloth or cotton swab with alcohol to gently rub the voter's finger and the sensor surface to clean residues from the surface of the fingerprint scanner," Shoman said in her report.

On the issue of campaign financing, Shoman repeated her earlier call for the adoption of legislation that "allow the disclosure of contributors or campaign expenditures or provisions that guarantee equal access to the media" to help promote transparency in campaign financing.

She also wants women to be encouraged "to become more active in political parties and run for office", noting that party leaders ought to "provide women with more favourable positions on the party list."

"Throughout the country, the OAS observers noticed that a majority of those working the polls were women. However, the number of women running for office, and particularly those who won seats, fell significantly low," Shoman observed.

The OAS Mission in Jamaica was composed of 24 observers from 16 different countries were dispatched to 852 polling stations located in 253 polling centres in all eight administrative electoral regions of the country. They witnessed first hand the preparations for the elections, the voting process, the counting of the ballots and the transmission of results.

Do you feel buying into Facebook now is a good investment for the long-run?
	Yes
	No

View Results
Results published weekly in Sunday Finance

Username:
Password:

Teen killed for laughing at man who fell from bicycle

OAS recommends uniformed procedures to avoid voting delays