Above: Turks and Caicos

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Last Friday’s elections in the Turks and Caicos were an “important step in returning to democratically-elected government,” according to a statement from the mission that observed the vote.

The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and the Association of Caribbean Electoral Organizations election mission said the process was “transparent, accountable and the results reflect the will of the people.”

“The observer mission was impressed by the clear commitment to the democratic process shown by the citizens of Turks and Caicos, their level of participation in the elections and the manner in which voters conducted themselves, notwithstanding the long lines requiring them to wait many hours to exercise their right to vote,” the mission said in a statement.

The observers visited all 17 polling stations in TCI, and evaluated the process as “good” or “very good” in the majority of cases, although the team did mention “time consuming voting procedures” leading to long lines.

The mission also said that votes were counted in a “largely transparent manner,” although there was a degree of variation of counting procedures adopted by election officials.

A final report will be eventually be issued by the mission, which was in the territory beginning Nov. 6.