Antigua and Barbuda general election conducted in a credible manner

The Commonwealth Secretary-General, Kamalesh Sharma, on 23 April 2009 released the Final Report of the Commonwealth Expert Team which observed the 2009 General Election in Antigua and Barbuda.

In issuing the report, he said: “The Commonwealth Expert Team’s overall assessment was that, despite some technical problems which delayed the start of polling in some areas, the elections were conducted in a credible manner. The Team was particularly impressed by the level of enthusiasm displayed by the electorate on polling day. The Team made a number of recommendations to improve the future conduct of the electoral process, including on the management of the process by the Electoral Commission, the voter registration process, the training of polling staff and campaign financing.”

The Secretary-General went on to say: “The Commonwealth stands ready to support the Government of Antigua and Barbuda and its Electoral Commission with any requests for technical assistance deemed necessary in this context.”

Note to Editors:

The report was completed and signed by all members of the Commonwealth Expert Team prior to their departure from Antigua. It was presented to the Commonwealth Secretary-General by the leader of the group, Christine Stewart, the former Canadian Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. Before being made public, it has been distributed to the Government of Antigua and Barbuda, political parties, the Antigua and Barbuda Electoral Commission, and all other Commonwealth governments.