ALBERT Ramdin, assistant secretary general of the Organisation of the American States (OAS), will arrive today from Washington with a core group of election observers for Jamaica’s general elections next Monday, September 3.

Ambassador Ramdin, who will be heading the mission while here in Jamaica, will consult with high-ranking political and electoral authorities about the preparations for the elections and the challenges presented from damage inflicted by Hurricane Dean on August 19.

Javier Montes, spokesman for the OAS mission, told the Observer that the assistant secretary general will arrive with a core group of at least 15 observers, while the remainder will arrive throughout the day until Friday.

The OAS is comprised of members from 13 countries, and is expected to field observers in all 60 constituencies.

Assistant chief of mission, Steven Griner, said the members of the OAS team will participate in a training session, which will include OAS observation methodology, the international code of conduct for observers, and the electoral process of Jamaica, among other topics.

Deployment of the observers will begin on the weekend.

Some observers, who were already in the island, monitored the vote of the security forces and election day workers on Tuesday.

The OAS team, which is in Jamaica on the invitation of the Electoral Commission of Jamaica, has expressed satisfaction with the overall organisation of the poll.