CITIZENS' ACTION for Free and Fair Elections (CAFFE), the watchdog group, is stepping up its drive to recruit volunteers to serve as observers in the upcoming general election.

Although it has close to 50 individuals who have signed up to work on Election Day, according to Mrs. Ouida Ridgard, its executive administrator, the goal is to have at least 2,000 observers before the nation goes to the polls. As a result, CAFFE is now on an aggressive recruitment drive to secure the remaining volunteers.

CAFFE is a non-partisan organisation which was founded in 1997 to monitor the general election which was held on December 18 that year. The group says it is committed to strengthening the country's democratic systems and more specifically to safeguarding the principle of free and fair elections.

The organisation has been targeting key groups and associations, Mrs. Ridgard says. "We've been going to service clubs, citizens' associations, churches, chambers of commerce, tertiary institutions and other organised groups and asking for volunteers," she said.

"We have also had advertisements in the media and some members have done media interviews and we've been talking about it whenever we get the opportunity".

Ms. Nancy Anderson, CAFFE board member and an attorney-at-law, says the response to the campaign has been positive so far and the organisation remains certain about meeting its mark. "We have every confidence of making the target. Every day new applications are coming in," she said.

In addition to its islandwide recruitment drive, CAFFE has also been holding training sessions to prepare volunteers to serve as observers on Election Day. In the Corporate Area of Kingston and St. Andrew alone, two training sessions are held each week, and a third will be added in the coming weeks.

"We are familiarising our volunteers with procedures at the polling stations, we're showing them the equipment and we're giving them scenarios which might unfold on Election Day and we tell them the appropriate action to take in each case," Ms. Anderson said.

She added: "We are also giving them a copy of a manual which CAFFE has prepared and we're teaching them about the role played by various people at polling stations such as poll clerks, presiding officers, scrutiners and the police."

Ideally, CAFFE would have wanted to place an observer in each polling station, however that would mean recruiting more than 6,000 volunteers before the election.

"We have decided to aim for 2,000 and in assigning our volunteers we will give priority to the marginal seats and the constituencies that usually swing because we anticipate that there is where our assistance will be needed the most," Mrs. Ridgard explained.

The volunteers will be expected to observe the proceedings at their assigned polling stations and file reports. These reports will form a comprehensive document which CAFFE will prepare following the election.