ELECTION OBSERVERS START ON APRIL 21ST

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And during one of its campaign meetings last night....the UNC was asking where are the election observers?  Today, the Foreign and CARICOM Affairs Ministry confirmed when observers from CARICOM and the Commonwealth are to arrive and how long they would be in the country .  Juhel Browne reports

Transcript

00:00During the UNC's general election community meeting in Arima on Friday,

00:05Opposition Senator Arnold Roberts raised a concern with regard to the 2025 general election to take place on April 28th.

00:13We have no election observers yet. 16 days to go.

00:18Election observers normally come three months before an election to see the process,

00:25to cut the balance, to check the returning officers, to hear the meetings, to see how it's being divided,

00:32to find out where the polling stations are, what the process is, to check the ink, to check everything.

00:38They normally come three months before. We are 16 days away, not an observer.

00:45Why is that? Because the PNM plans to steal the election from you.

00:51On Saturday, the Foreign and Caracom Affairs Ministry issued a media release,

00:55stating that the observer missions for the general election are expected to commence and complete the exercise in Trinidad and Tobago

01:01during the period April 21st to April 30th, 2025.

01:06The Foreign Ministry said Caracom and the Commonwealth confirmed their involvement

01:10via official correspondence dated January 13th and March 25th of this year, respectively.

01:16The Foreign Ministry said the observer missions are also expected to share their observations

01:21and make recommendations for future electoral processes with relevant authorities, stakeholders and members of the public.

01:29The Ministry said the Chief Election Officer has been officially informed of the scheduled presence of the missions

01:36and of the request from the Caracom Secretariat for meetings with key stakeholders

01:41and that details with regard to the Commonwealth's team are being addressed.

01:45The Foreign Ministry said, quote,

01:47facilitation of the electoral observer missions is in keeping with international best practice

01:52and reflects Trinidad and Tobago's long-standing commitment and adherence to democracy and the rule of law

01:58to the promotion and protection of human rights

02:00and the country's universally acknowledged tradition of free and fair elections, end quote.

02:06The Foreign Ministry said the response from the U.S.-based Carter Center thus far

02:10and to be confirmed has been its inability to deploy and observe a mission.

02:16Jewel Brown, TV6 News.

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