Opposition Leader Ralph Thorne has warned CARICOM election observers that “not all is well with democracy in Barbados”, alleging voter disenfranchisement, political interference in electoral administration and an increasingly hostile climate for free participation ahead of Wednesday’s General Election.
He raised the concerns during the Democratic Labour Party’s (DLP) manifesto launch at Gall Hill, St John, on Saturday night, where he told supporters – who remained in place despite persistent rainfall – that he was publicly drafting a figurative letter to the regional observers on behalf of the Barbadian people.
“I want to write a letter to the observers tonight, and I want to write this letter with you,” Thorne said. “Not from my own personal perspective, but from the perspective of the people of Barbados. Before they speak to me, I have to speak to you, because you are the ones voting in this election.” The three-member CARICOM Election Observation Mission, comprising senior electoral officials from Antigua and Barbuda, Belize and Jamaica, supported by staff of the CARICOM Secretariat, arrived in Barbados last Thursday and will remain here until Friday.
Last Friday, Chief of Mission Ian Hughes said concerns raised over the omission of names from the voters’ list fell squarely within their remit, though they had no authority to intervene in the electoral process.
This is the first time Barbados has ever had official observers for a General Election, but Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley said she invited them to safeguard the country’s’ democratic reputation and allow independent bodies to assess the conduct of the poll, amid controversy over the voters’ list and the readiness of the Electoral and Boundaries Commission (EBC).
Thorne said he received a telephone call earlier Saturday from the election observers seeking a meeting, but insisted that any engagement with them had to be grounded in the lived experiences and concerns of ordinary Barbadians.
“You did not bring them here. I did not bring them here,” he told the crowd, “but we have something to tell them. They are not voting for me, and they are not voting for this great Democratic Labour Party. You, the people of Barbados, are the ones who are voting.”
Independence of the EBC
Central to Thorne’s message was the independence of the EBC, which he reminded supporters was constitutionally required to operate free from Government control. He questioned whether that independence had been compromised.
“Dear observers, the Electoral and Boundaries Commission under the law is meant to be an independent constitutional body, independent of the Government of Barbados. And when we say independent, it means independent of Cabinet, independent of political influence and independent of any party,” the King’s Counsel said.
He posed a series of questions which he said formed part of the letter’s core. “Can the chairman of that commission say to the people of this country tonight that the commission is truly and genuinely independent? Has he been in conversation with the Government? Has he been in conversation with Cabinet?”
Thorne, who is the DLP candidate for St John, also raised concerns about last year’s voter enumeration exercise, alleging that it was rushed and improperly conducted.
“Dear observers, sometime last year the Government hired postmen to do an enumeration exercise. And under the customs, conventions and traditions of a democratic country, enumeration is supposed to be patient, careful, transparent and respectful of the rights of every man and woman over the age of 18.”
Short deadline
He reiterated his claim that workers were given a short deadline and offered additional payments for completing the task quickly.
Warning of the consequences, Thorne said: “If one man or one woman is left off that list, democracy suffers. One person disenfranchised is one too many.”
According to him, the outcome of the process placed thousands of citizens at risk of being removed from the voters’ list.
“We heard that 8 291 citizens – some dead, some alive – were to be struck off the list. That means living people denied the right to vote, and the integrity of the list itself thrown into question.”
He cited what he described as a particularly troubling example involving a DLP candidate. “Here is a man, Ensley Grainger, asking people to vote for him, and his own name is not on the list of voters. Take that message back, dear observers.”
The DLP president argued that the timing of the election announcement compounded the problem. He said the bell was rung before the legally established deadline for finalising the voters’ list.
“When that election was called, several thousand people in this country would be denied the right to vote. That is not coincidence. That is a serious matter and it goes to the heart of democracy.”
Beyond electoral administration, Thorne accused the Government of passing legislation permitting the tapping of citizens’ phones, and questioned whether personal data held by telecommunications companies had been accessed for political purposes.
“Dear observers, this is a Government that admitted to tapping people’s phones. This country tonight is in the grips . . . of injustice and democracy is being assassinated for the sake of perpetual power.”
He also alleged that the ruling party had obtained the DLP’s manifesto document before its official launch.
Thorne urged supporters to remain peaceful and engaged, adding that voter turnout would ultimately determine the outcome.
“If they have disenfranchised one, or 100 or 1 000,” he told the crowd, “ten thousand will replace them at the polls come Wednesday.”
He stressed that his appeal to CARICOM observers was motivated by concern for Barbados’ democratic legacy rather than hostility to its institutions. “This is a letter written out of love for country. We welcome you, observers, but we must tell you the truth: the people of this country are watching and they intend to vote.” (CLM)
