The head of a team of general election observers from the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association on Tuesday denied the team was a toothless tiger.
Rob Ward, the head of the association’s nine-strong British Islands and Mediterranean Region delegation, said that the organisation could only make recommendations, but insisted its reports were not easy to ignore by the jurisdictions involved.
He added, “I don’t think that’s fair – as we have seen, there have been gradual changes.
“If recommendations come back and come back, it tends to push for change, if that’s the change that is wanted.
“It’s more carrot than stick. I understand that, but good governance is about accepting change where it’s needed. You have to be hopeful.”
Ward, a deputy in the States Assembly of Jersey, was speaking as the visiting observer group – including mission coordinator Martin Vickery and election analysts Sandi Gale and Anne Marlborough – discussed their role in next week’s general election at a press conference at the Government Administration Building in George Town Tuesday.
The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association’s mission was earlier quizzed on recommendations made by previous election missions to Cayman, which had highlighted the need for more transparency over the financing of political campaigns and candidates.
Ward said during the press conference that the mission was not disheartened when recommendations made were not taken up.
“We make recommendations every time we observe. We can’t force these recommendations to be implemented,” he said.
“It’s not dispiriting. It’s about keeping going and being constructive about the processes we use and giving valid recommendations at the end.”
The head of the mission added he was aware of the problems smaller countries could face at election times, although he declined to identify specifics.
Ward said, “It really depends on the jurisdiction itself. Each observation is very unique and it’s about where that particular jurisdiction or government is.”
He highlighted that Jersey had a very different election process from Cayman and that comparison between jurisdictions was not appropriate.
Ward added the team would use an “objective process, from which we will make observations which are guided by international standards”.
Marlborough said, “The important thing to understand about our work as an election observation team is ‘observation’.
“We are only observing the elections. … We are not going to interfere in any way with the election.”
She explained the visit and report were “all about supporting democracy, supporting good governance”.
Marlborough added that a major objective of the mission was “to be in some way of service to bolstering democracy”, and the publication of its observations after the election would contribute to that.
She said, “Certainly there is no such thing as a perfect election. … I have been on many election observation missions around the world.”
Marlborough added that the association’s British Islands and Mediterranean Region had drawn up a set of principles for international election observations.
She emphasised, “Our work isn’t that I’m going to come here and in some way compare the elections here with Ireland. That’s not what we’re here for.”
She added the mission had no political links to Cayman, as individuals or as a group.
Confidentiality for respondents
Gale added the mission also guaranteed complete anonymity to anyone they talked to in the course of its work.
She said, “We treat what we’re told in total confidentiality and only use the information we receive in a non-identifiable manner.”
Gale underlined that the mission would not disclose what meetings had been held or who they had met in the course of their inquiries.
She added the public would see the team touring polling stations on Election Day, dressed in distinctive white vests identifying the mission as election observers.
Gale said, “We will be watching, listening and, where appropriate, asking questions in a neutral way.”
The full observer team also includes parliamentarians from Scotland, Wales and the Isle of Man, as well as three members of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association’s UK branch, who will arrive this week.
It is the fourth time an association team has observed Cayman’s elections, the last time in 2021, which was carried out remotely because of COVID-19 restrictions.
They will assess the election against international standards, commitments and obligations, as well as Caymanian laws.
The team will reveal their initial impressions on 2 May, with a final report released to the public about two months later.
Anyone who wants to assist the mission can contact them at [email protected].
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