Vincentians braved the early morning rain to cast their ballots at the November 25 referendum.

By Jeff Trotman

KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent, CMC – Citizens of this Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country were awaiting the outcome of the historic referendum for a new constitution that political observers say could also determine whether or not Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves could call an early general election.

 

There were minor incidents during the 10-hour voting period, with electoral officials indicating that there had been a “steady stream” of voters at the 225 polling stations across the islands.

 

At one polling station, the preliminary figures indicated that less than 50 per cent of the eligible voters exercised their franchise. The results for that polling station showed that the “No Vote” had taken an earlier narrow lead.

 

At another polling station in East St George constituency, the No Vote had received 176 compared to 84 for the “Yes Vote” and political commentators say If that polling station is any indication of national trends, the overall results may be too close to call.

 

The government or the “Yes Vote” supporters require 66.7 per cent of the votes cast to ensure a change of the 30-year old constitution that had been handed down to the  country when it gained political independence from Britain in 1979.

 

A total of 97,751 persons were registered to vote in the first ever referendum of its kind in the Eastern Caribbean.

 

While the official close of polls was 5 pm, the State-owned NBC radio was reporting that there were persons still standing in lines one hour after the scheduled close.

 

“Assuming that people have voted along party lines, it would clearly suggest at the end of the day, how the party stands,” one panellist on the NBC radio programme said, adding that people in their analysis of the referendum results were most likely to use the results to indicate the strength of the two major parties ahead of the general election.

 

“The referendum descended into raw politics,” another panellist said, adding that voters may have followed a party line in the referendum.

 

Supervisor of Elections, Mrs Sylvia Findlay Scrubb said that the office has until Friday at the latest to inform the Governor General of the results.

 

Head of the Organisation of American States (OAS) Monitoring Team, Stephen Gryner said the vast majority of the polls opened on time “even though it has been raining very hard here”.

 

Apart from the OAS, the polls were monitored by two other organisations - the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).

 

The Ralph Gonsalves administration is urging voters to support the new document by providing the 66.7 per cent majority vote needed to change the Constitution, while the main opposition New Democratic Party (NDP) is calling on supporters to reject the document.

 

CMC