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Commonwealth Observer Team in Belize
LONDON,(JIS); Wednesday, February 06, 2008: A
Commonwealth expert team, headed by former Jamaican Foreign
Affairs Minister, K. D. Knight, is now in Belize to observe
that country's February 7 elections.
Commonwealth Secretary-General, Don McKinnon, said that the
three-member team, which arrived in Belize on February 1 and
will depart on February 12, was constituted at the behest of
the Government of Belize. Their work will be supported by
three Commonwealth Secretariat staff.
In addition to Mr. Knight, other members of the team are:
Dr. Nemata Eshun-Baiden, founder and First President of the
50/50 Group, a civil society organization in Sierra Leone;
and Robert Patterson, former Chief Electoral Officer of
British Colombia, Canada. Juliet Solomon, Head of
Caribbean/Pacific Section in the Political Affairs Division,
will lead the Secretariat support staff.
"The Commonwealth is very pleased to have been invited to
these elections and to send a team to Belize for the first
ever time" Mr. McKinnon said.
He noted that, "these are important elections for the
country and the fact that people will, at the same time, be
voting in a referendum on whether or not to elect the
Senate, is also highly significant."
According to the Secretary-General, the mandate of the team
is to observe preparations for the election, the polling,
counting and results process, and the overall electoral
environment.
Prior to departing Belize, the team will submit a report to
the Commonwealth Secretary-General, assessing the overall
conduct of the election and making appropriate
recommendations for future strengthening of the electoral
process in Belize.
A release from the Commonwealth Secretariat said that the
expert team will act impartially and independently and shall
conduct itself according to the standards expressed in the
International Declaration of Principles for Election
Observation to which the Commonwealth is a signatory.
