Carter

THE OCTOBER 16 parliamentary election, the 14th in the country's history, will be monitored by a team of high-profile international observers headed by former United States President Jimmy Carter and former Costa Rica President Miguel Angel Rodriguez.

They will lead a 55-member delegation from 16 countries, the US-based Carter Center reported yesterday.

This marks the second time that a team from the Carter Center and its Council of Presidents and Prime Ministers of the

Americas will observe an election in Jamaica, the first being the December 18, 1997 general election.

The Carter Center team was invited by the Electoral Advisory Committee (EAC) and "welcomed by all major political parties ...," a statement from the Center said.

It explained that former Presidents Carter and Rodriguez were members of the Center's Council of Presidents and Prime Ministers of the Americas, a group of 35 current and former heads of government who have monitored elections throughout the Western Hemisphere since 1987. The Council seeks to reinforce democracy, resolve conflicts and advance co-operation in the hemisphere.

Prime Minister P.J. Patterson and Opposition Leader Edward Seaga, who served as Prime Minister between 1980 and 1989, are Council members.

According to President Carter, "Jamaicans, with their strong tradition of democracy will be the final judges of the election". He added that: "Jamaicans have voiced a clear commitment to an open electoral process, and we are optimistic this will be another proud moment in Jamaica's history".

The Carter Center already has a presence on the ground as 12 persons were deployed on September 30 to observe campaigns and election preparations in 24 constituencies. The remainder of the delegation will arrive on Saturday. On election day, they will witness the opening of polls, voting and vote counting at polling stations and transportation of the ballot boxes to the counting centres.

Mr. Carter and Mr. Rodriguez, along with Americas Programme Director Dr. Jennifer McCoy and Senior Associate Laura Neuman, will meet all candidates, the EAC, Commissioner of Police, the Political Ombudsman and local observer group Citizens Action for Free and Fair Elections (CAFFE).

The delegation will join a team of investigators from the United Nations that will also have a visible presence on election day. While the Carter Center team will play an observer role, the UN team will work with local election officials to determine whether to void the election in any of the 60 seats that will be contested.