During a press briefing Tuesday, Dora James, head of the Caricom delegation tasked with managing the May 25 elections, indicated that so far there are no indications of any voting fraud. James, who hails from St. Vincent, explained how her team is proceeding, "In the coming days, we will be holding meetings with the Speaker of Parliament, civil society organizations, church leaders, party representatives and other stakeholders, among others. In addition, we are evaluating the overall ballot box environment and security around the polling stations."
On the day, the mission splits into nine inspection teams that are present throughout the country. "Although we cannot cover every corner of Suriname, in addition to Greater Paramaribo, we are also focusing on Commewijne, Saramacca, Coronie and Wanica," James said.
NDP list leader Jennifer Geerlings-Simons has claimed to the Volkskrant that a VHP gain of more than fourteen seats is only possible through manipulation. According to recent polls, the VHP would gain 17 seats versus 14 for the NDP, but Simons doubts their reliability and suggests that the government is using poll data strategically to mask a possible fraud. There are others in the community who claim this as well, but they are unsubstantiated statements. Precisely, according to James, good precautions have been taken, so citizens should remain vigilant with election stunts and vote buying coming from losing parties and party loyalists.
James stated that she was not aware of Simons' statements and stressed that her observers rely on concrete facts and evidence: "Parties may keep their own counts, but we report only what we ourselves observe on the ground."
In addition, the Caricom mission maintains informal contacts with EU and OAS observers. "It is not formal cooperation, but we do exchange unsolicited insights," said the chief of mission.
