The Electoral Office on Monday completed a series of zonal training sessions for election officers in preparation for General Elections on December 6, 2019.

The sessions were targeted at returning officers, election clerks, presiding officers, poll clerks, and assistant poll clerks. Sessions were held in Portsmouth, for officers from St. Joseph to Marigot; in Goodwill for officers from Mahaut to Petite Savanne including the Roseau Valley, and in Castle Bruce for officers from Laplaine to the Kalinago Territory.

The Electoral Office aimed to update the skills and knowledge of election officers to manage the electoral process on polling day. Sessions included a simulation Election Day exercise to demonstrate best practices and measures to address potential issues that may arise on polling day. Participants were taken through a guided feedback session which included a review of the election laws and procedures.

Chief Elections Officer Ian Michael Anthony deemed the sessions a success, saying they increased the readiness of election officers to effectively administer the polls.

“We are now in the final stage of preparation for election day on Friday. As part of the preparation for Elections 2019, the office would have conducted trainings on a zonal basis for all officers. Those trainings were very successful and allowed us to ensure that everybody is on a level playing field, everybody has the same set of instructions and that on polling day each officer will carry-out those instructions in the same manner. And I’d like to remind voters to go out and cast their ballot and importantly to pay attention to instructions that will be given to them by the presiding officers,” Anthony said.

The Electoral Office assures the general public that it has completed all preparations ahead of the December 6 polls and encourages all to exercise their democratic right to cast their ballots to elect a new government.

Information on polling stations can be obtained at www.electoraloffice.gov.dm.