TRADE CONSULTANT Ambassador Peter King yesterday branded the Jamaica Agricultural Society's (JAS) elections over which he presided on Wednesday as being neither free nor fair. He has called for a fresh ballot to be held.
Mr. King, a life-time member of the JAS, said the procedures he observed throughout the conduct of the elections were not in conformity with normal electoral practices.
"I don't think the practices that went though could constitute a suitable election and were neither free nor fair," Ambassador King said. "In my view, the elections should be held again."
He has sent a memorandum to the Board of Management of the JAS outlining a number of concerns about the conduct of the elections. Among the issues he highlighted were the lack of systems to determine spoilt ballots; the improper determination of the list of eligible voters; and the inadequate mechanisms to ensure that ballots were accounted for.
The Gleaner was unable to reach members of the executive of the JAS last night for comment.
Ambassador King said there were no stated rules governing the conduct of the elections which were held at the Jamaica Conference Centre, downtown Kingston, during the organisation's 105th Annual General Meeting.
He said one of the main problems was the lack of proper labelling on the ballots to assist persons who were not literate. He said, unlike properly labelled ballots which have symbols, the JAS ballots required persons to write in the name of the candidate they were voting for.
He said there were also inconsistencies in the number of ballots, as while there were only 276 voters on the list there were an additional 57 spoilt ballots. "I did not see any transparent mechanism to ensure that the view of the voters were reflected on the ballots," he said.
Allegations of double voting marred Wednesday's election which saw the re-election of St. Mary Custos A.A. "Bobby" Pottinger as president of the JAS. He pooled 172 votes, 52 more than his challenger, Norman Grant who got 120.
Voting was briefly suspended as ballot boxes were removed to an area where Agriculture Minister Roger Clarke and other officials were seated. Mr. Grant had charged that he would have taken the matter to court, however, he later conceded defeat.
