A team of independent observers who assessed Anguilla’s recent general election have concluded that it was “free and fair, and free from fear”.
In their initial statement, the Anguilla Independent Citizens Observers (AICO) said the voting process was conducted largely transparently and in line with democratic principles.
“We have reached this conclusion from the observations of our team, and the absence of any uncontroverted evidence up to this point, to suggest otherwise,” they said on 27 February.
However, the group highlighted areas for improvement, particularly in the conduct of political debates, pointing to the use of “innuendos and mockery of others”.
It also suggested there should be better signage at polling stations, enhanced training for electoral workers and more done to prevent campaigning on election day.
Observers
The AICO was given the mandate to observe and evaluate the Anguilla general election of 2025, including nomination day on 7 February, advance voting on 25 February and election day on 26 February.
The independent and non-partisan team was made up of a team of 29 observers led by Canon Reid Simon and assisted by a deputy.
There were seven teams, inclusive of a team leader, assigned to the seven electoral districts.
All observers complied with the ‘Declaration of Global Principles for Non-Partisan Election Observation and Monitoring by Citizen Organisations’.
They signed a pledge of non-partisanship indicating that they had no public affiliation with any political party, candidate or agent participating in the general election.
The AICO’s preliminary statement outlines key findings and initial recommendations from the short-term observation effort.
Members are still finalising their assessments and a final report will be issued by 31 March with additional findings, observations and recommendations.
Nominations
The announcement for the 2025 general election was made on 27 January by the then premier Ellis Webster. The House of Assembly was then dissolved after its setting on 28 February.
A notice of nominations for the general election was published on 29 January in the various districts and also on the website of the Central Electoral Office.
Nominations were held on 7 February at the Anguilla House of Assembly between the hours of 10am and 1pm and 2pm and 4pm.
The two major parties, the Anguilla People’s Movement (APM) and the Anguilla United Front (AUF), fielded candidates at the district and islandwide levels.
The Anguilla Reliable Team (ART) fielded candidates mainly at the islandwide levels, with a few at the district levels.
There were two independent candidates at the district level, and several independent candidates at the islandwide level, preliminary statement said.
Media and campaigning
The AICO noted that the pre-election climate was very active and became more intense as the voting days approached.
There were a number of debates organised by the Anguilla National Youth Council. These debates were keenly followed on social media by supporters of the various parties and candidates.
“Candidates and their parties appeared to make the best of media and platforms available to them,” the statement said.
However, the AICO received complaints from candidates in particular, and in general, that they felt excluded from certain media, describing this as a matter which needs to be addressed.
The AICO said it has not formally raised these concerns with the media owners, but it is being considered in order to ensure a free and balanced media environment.
In the debates, and especially the platforms of political meetings, candidates sought to lay their plans and vision before the electorate, the statement said.
But it added that “innuendos and mockery of others” became part of the discourse, and that, in some instances, it caused persons to be ‘turned off’ and not able to hear of genuine plans and programmes.
“The absence of printed or electronic copies of manifestos also lent to some difficulty in the electorate being able to digest the offerings of the various parties and their candidates,” the AICO said.
Advance voting
Advance voting, permissible since 2020 under the laws governing elections in Anguilla, was held on 24 February, and was a “welcomed experience”, according to the observers.
“It was specifically put in place to accommodate the elderly, otherly-abled, frontline workers and emergency personnel,” the statement said.
The process of advance voting took place at the Quarter Campus of the Albena Lake Hodge Comprehensive School.
There were 14 AICO members at The Quarter campus to focus on the voting advance voting proceedings on 25 February.
“It has been said that a society is often judged by how it treats its elderly and its young,” the statement said.
“The process of advanced voting sent a message that there is a concern for the elderly and therefore, a preferential option for voting should be granted to them.”
While this was a worthy effort, the AICO said overall adequate access for those who are wheel-chaired and ‘other-abled’ also needs to be given more concern and to be intentionally addressed.
Though there was visible expediting of opportunities for the elderly to access early voting, there were still those who waited a bit too long in the line at the expense of more able-bodied persons, the observers said.
‘Altruistic effort’
Lower numbers were registered to take advantage of advance voting than in an earlier elective cycle, the AICO said.
As a result, in what appeared to be “an altruistic effort”, the supervisor of elections sought to grant more eligible people the opportunity to register on Monday, 23 February, for early voting.
“The gesture by the supervisor did not reach its intended target base, however,” the statement said, adding that some may have construed this gesture as an attempt at corrupting the electoral process.
A decision was later made by the elections supervisor and shared through a press release, that all those who applied for and received permission on 23 February would not be allowed to vote early.
This is because the election laws of 2020 indicated that the deadline for registration was 10 February.
The decisions of the supervisor pertaining to early voting became a talking point among candidates and some sections of the electorate, about the ‘letter of the law’ versus the ‘spirit of the law’, the AICO said.
“From the AICO’s vantage point, neither decision by the supervisor undermined the integrity of the process of registration for advanced voting,” the statement said.
“The AICO also believes that, given the nature of the elective process, the letter of the law should be followed, as this would leave little room for speculation in the minds of all stakeholders.”
Election day
On election day, 26 February, the members of the AICO were deployed across the island to cover the seven polling districts and were present one hour before the opening of the polling stations.
This allowed for them to witness the oaths taken by election officials and agents, and the timely opening of the polls.
On both days of voting, the majority of the polls opened at the prescribed times, the AICO statement said.
Due to some technical issues, there were minimal delays on 26 February in at least three stations, but voters waited patiently for the opportunity to cast their vote, the observers noted.
AICO members were able to monitor the voting process, take note of any anomalies and infractions, and observe the transparency involved in the sealing of the voting boxes and the memory sticks.
They also accompanied law enforcement and election officials to the Anguilla House of Assembly for the counting of the votes and the declaration of winners.
Improvements
The AICO lamented the “constant intertwining” of some candidates in the lines where people assembled to cast their vote.
“We believe that the rules governing such engagement, either in the lines or having easy access into the polling stations, is something to be considered,” they wrote.
There were also some reports that voters in the line were campaigning for a party which the observers said all parties and candidates must “strongly disassociate themselves from”.
Signage, when judged against previous years, has shown some improvement, though gains were made were not across the board and there is room for improvement, the observers said.
The AICO commended the supervisor of elections, deputy and staff, as well as the returning officers, presiding officers and poll clerks on the discharge of their duties.
However, members noted some minor inconsistencies and later found out that there were some new workers in those positions.
They suggested a thorough educational initiative should be undertaken by all electoral workers to create efficiency and ongoing consistency, and mitigate against unnecessary speculation and suspicion.
“Given the tense and sometimes antagonistic nature of national elections, we believe that all stakeholders must be on board with the details involved in the process,” the AICO wrote.
Counting of votes
The votes were transported under “adequate” security from the districts to the House of Assembly for counting, the AICO said.
Members commended the Central Electoral Office and the Department of Information and E-Government Services in ensuring public viewing of the process through big screens and social media platforms.
The observers, however, noted that there was a delay in presenting the information to the public and acknowledged the challenge which sometimes arise with technology.
The supervisor of elections and the returning officers presented the results.
The AUF, led by Cora Richardson Hodge, secured four seats at the district level and four islandwide, while the APM, led by Ellis Webster, secured three seats at the district level.
No other party or candidate won a seat and there were no recounts of the ballots from any of the stations.
“From what we have observed, especially through social media posts, candidates who lost have conceded and accepted the count as shared by the aforementioned presenters,” the observers said.
“The AICO is able to conclude that the Anguilla National Elections have been free and fair, and free from fear.”
