THE Electoral Advisory Committee said yesterday that the electoral office was about 90 per cent prepared to manage a general election, which is due this year.

“We are 90 per cent in readiness (for the elections); we are practically completed and could go ahead now but the 10 per cent holding us back is the failure to recruit election workers especially in Kingston and St Andrew,” independent Electoral Advisory Committee (EAC) member, Dr Herbert Thompson, told journalists at a press conference in Kingston yesterday.

Director of Elections Danville Walker said of the 19,600 applications he received for election workers 18,593 were available for training, 10,551 have already been trained while the others will trained by May 31. He said there was, however, a shortfall of 1,700 election day workers, 1,500 of those needed in the parishes of Kingston and St Andrew.

Maxine Henry-Wilson, the voting representative of the ruling People’s National Party on the EAC, however, expressed her satisfaction with the EAC state of readiness for the polls.

“The PNP is satisfied with the state of readiness. What has been good about the whole preparation process is that it has been consistent dialogue, meetings and recommendations made at the local level. This has helped to decrease matters of dispute and has helped to ensure a more effective and efficient setup for elections,” she said.

And the Opposition Jamaica Labour Party representative on the committee, Ryan Peralto, said “there has been a far more efficient approach to election day preparations, because there have been meetings and discussions… there has been a greater understanding of and partnership in the electoral process.”

Meanwhile, Walker said emphasis will be placed on training for the election day workers. He said four training sessions will be held immediately after the election date is announced with another two before election day. “We have printed trainer-friendly material and have produced election videos for the workers,” he said.

He said, too, that indoor political agents will receive special training to educate them on the role they have to play. He added: “We are working with the security forces and have made it clear about the standards we expect from them; we have produced a booklet of (election day) offences which is made available to every member of the security forces.”

Walker said there would also be a public education campaign on the dos and don’t at polling stations election day.

Thompson reported yesterday that election day activities would be monitored at an election centre to be established at the Jamaica Broilers Group, Hope Road complex Kingston.

“The centre would not only monitor the activities at polling stations around the island but it would serve as an information distribution hub for the media and the public at large with respect to election day matters,” Thompson said. He added that the EAC would have daily press update at the centre nearer to the election while on election day there will be hourly press updates.