CASH-STRAPPED election monitor, Citizens Action for Free and Fair Elections (CAFFE), yesterday had its fortunes boosted by a $1-million donation from local cellphone provider Digicel.

Digicel’s CEO David Hall handed CAFFE $250,000 in flexicards (prepaid cellphone credit), 60 cellular phones and 2,000 bags for use by volunteer observers during the election scheduled for August 27.

Digicel’s input, and the promise from Hall that the support would be continuous, have increased CAFFE’s confidence in reaching its targets for the election.

“CAFFE is confident that it will be in a position to effectively monitor the elections,” board secretary, Father Jim Webb, said at the presentation at the Liguanea Club in New Kingston.

CAFFE has reportedly recruited only about 50 per cent of the minimum 2,000 volunteers it is seeking to monitor the elections. But, Father Webb said that recruiting has improved since the naming of the election date.

“I hope enough people will volunteer so we will have eyes in every polling station,” he said.

After losing approximately $9 million in support from the European Union (EU) in 2002, CAFFE has now turned to the local business sector and local foreign missions like the United States Embassy and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) for support.

In the meantime, Fabian Brown, a director of CAFFE, has appealed to members of the private sector to follow the example of Digicel and support the group’s efforts.

He said, however, that several firms were already giving support. These include PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Jamaica Producers Group, Pan Caribbean Investment, Jamaica Broilers Group and Sugar and Spice Limited.

Last November, the US embassy contributed US$10,000 (J$670,000) to the elections monitor.

Brown said that CAFFE would be seeking to ensure comprehensive representation across the island.

“Our aim is to try and make sure that we have comprehensive representation across the island. But from our own observation over the last 10 years and also from the information out of the EOJ, there are areas where we will be very interested to make sure that we have observers present,” he said.

He gave as examples, areas where electronic identification systems would be used as well as areas considered “hot spots”.

The political parties, the CAFFE director said, have invited the elections watchdog to observe the polls in specific areas, but that would depend on the availability of resources.

“The extent that we can fulfil those requests is the extent to which we do have the volunteers. That is why our appeal is continuous that well-thinking Jamaicans, who are not aligned or associated with any one of the political parties, would come on board with us,” Brown said.

He said that although the observers should not be aligned to any particular political party, they will be encouraged to vote on election day.

Training sessions for volunteers are scheduled for August 8 at the St Thomas More Church in May Pen; August 9 at the East Queen Street Baptist Church in Kingston and August 16 at the Stella Maris Church, Shortwood Road, St Andrew.