PRIME Minister Stuart Young says the Commonwealth has committed to sending an observer mission to Trinidad and Tobago for the April 28 general election.
Young made the disclosure at the post-Cabinet news conference at Whitehall on March 27.
"I can report today and I am quite happy with this progress."
He reminded the media, government wrote to the Commonwealth Secretariat on March 19, inviting the secretariat to send an observer mission to TT.
"Initially because of funding it was a bit uncertain. But I am happy to report that on March 25, the Rt Honourable Patricia Scotland, KC, (Commonwealth Secretary-General)...Baroness Scotland wrote back to me as Prime Minister."
>
He said the Commonwealth chair congratulated him on his appointment as prime minister on March 17 and told him it came "at a pivotal moment when both the Commonwealth and the global community face complex challenges that require strengthened, multilateral cooperation."
Scotland, Young continued, expressed confidence that under his leadership, "Trinidad and Tobago will continue to play a distinguished role in championing multilateralism and upholding the values and principles of Commonwealth."
He said Scotland then confirmed the Commonwealth will deploy an observer mission for the election.
The secretariat will be communicating with the government to organise the planning and deployment of this mission.
Young said, "So I can confirm now that the Commonwealth Secretariat...the Commonwealth will be observing our elections in the build up to the 28th of April, and on the 28th of April."
He also reminded the media government has written to the Carter Center, inviting them to send an observer mission.
"We are still awaiting a response from them."
Young said Foreign and Caricom Affairs Minister Dr Amery Browne has been asked to follow up with them.
At a post-Cabinet news conference at the same venue on March 20, Young said Caricom responded positively to an invitation from his predecessor Dr Keith Rowley to send an observer mission for the election on January 13.
>
Rowley, who resigned as prime minister on March 16, made the invitation to Caricom on December 10, 2024.
Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar had written separate letters to Rowley and Young to request international observer missions for the election.
On March 20, Young said, "We intend to have free and fair elections as we have always had."
But he added, "Every time a particular party loses an election, they look for every excuse and run to the courts."
Young said government has nothing to hide and there will be no opportunity for anyone to claim otherwise.
“To take away from that, we have invited those three bodies.”
The Carter Center is a “non-governmental, non-profit organisation” founded in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1982 by former US president, Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn, in partnership with Emory University after his defeat in the 1980 US presidential election.
The center has done peace and health-work globally.
This work included sending missions to observe election in 40 countries and three Native American nations. These included elections in US, Guyana, Jamaica, Cuba, Venezuela, Colombia and Dominican Republic.
>
The Commonwealth sent an observer mission to TT for the September 7, 2015 election.
Rowley had invited Caricom and the Commonwealth to send election observers to the August 2020 election in 2020. But due to the covid19 pandemic and financial constraints, neither was able to.
