Voters in this small Eastern Caribbean island of Nevis are to elect members to the Nevis Island Administration (NIA) following a campaign highlighted by accusations of fraud and a court ruling that the election must proceed as scheduled.
Benjamin Leroy, the Supervisor of Elections, had said everything was in place for the polls despite opposition claims that the names of at least 300 people had been taken off the official voters list.
“We are right on track ...everything is ready for Monday,” he said.
A five –member observer team from the Organization of American States (OAS) headed by Paul Spencer an Advisor to the OAS Secretary General from Antigua and Barbuda, is monitoring the polls.
Both the ruling Nevis Reformation Party (NRP) of Premier Joseph Parry and the main opposition Concerned Citizens Movement (CCM) led by former premier Vance Armory are fielding candidates for all five constituencies.
In the last election in 2006, the NRP won three seats as against the two for the CCM, with the eight-member NIA being completed by the nomination of three members.
Attorney General and Minister of Justice and Legal Affairs, Patrice Nisbett, who is contesting the election on behalf of the NRP, said over the past five years, there has been a healthy working relationship between the Federal Government in Basseterre and the NIA.
But Opposition Leader Mark Brantley said he is confident that the voters will return his party to power given the policies and programmes highlighted during the election campaign.
Last week, High Court judge Mario Michel dismissed an application from the CCM for an injunction to stop the elections on the grounds that the names of 300 voters had been taken off the official list.
However, the judge also ruled that the authorities reinstate the names of five persons that had been removed from the list.
The results of the elections are expected at least two hours after the polls close.
[Source: CMC]
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