THE Organisation of American States (OAS) says it will probing reports of flaws, including long delays in the opening of polling stations, in yesterday’s general election in Antigua and Barbuda.

The OAS observer mission – one of three that monitored the election – said it would be seeking an appropriate explanation why at least 10 per cent of the polling stations in mainland Antigua were unprepared to facilitate voting before noon, six hours late.

The observer missions, which also include teams from the Commonwealth and the Caribbean Community (Caricom), were exposed to what one diplomat reported last night as “quite unusual in the conduct of elections here” (Antigua and Barbuda).

At stake in the fiercely contested election campaign are 17 parliamentary constituencies.

The incumbent United People’s Progressive Party (UPP) of Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer was favoured by pollsters of the Caribbean Development Research Services to retain power for a second five-year term.

At least four hours before the scheduled close of the polls, leader of the Opposition Antigua Labour Party (ALP) and former two-term Prime Minister Lester Bird, told reporters that: “Yesterday was a day of shame for Antigua and Barbuda. Never in our history of free and fair elections has there been this disgraceful experience of polling stations which should legally be opened from 6:00 am until 6:00 pm, failed to do so for at least four hours and in some cases for six hours.

“The Baldwin Spencer Government and the very pro-UPP Elections Commission must be challenged by the observer missions to say why this had to happen; if indeed electoral malpractices were not a factor as we have reasons to believe,” said Bird.

Speaking in the absence of Barbados’ former Foreign Minister Dame Bille Miller, who is heading the OAS observer mission, Assistant Secretary General of the hemispheric body, Ambassador Albert Ramdin, said that the problems associated with the failure for timely opening of polling stations was “most regrettable, and quite irregular for elections in Antigua and Barbuda”.

He said that the OAS would be seeking answers from the Government and Elections Commission.

“Generally, however, the election took place in a peaceful and orderly atmosphere and the voters deserve to be commended for their patience and commitment to the electoral process,” said Ramdin.