Voters patiently lined up at the HOA building to cast their ballots on November 7, 2011. Photo: VINO

Elihu Rymer said the people of the VI should be "greatly" congratulated for their conduct at the polls.

Elihu Rymer said the people of the VI should be "greatly" congratulated for their conduct at the polls.

“I think they may have been able to learn something, who we as a people are, the quality, calibre and decency of the people of these British Virgin Islands. I hope they will take that experience and maybe it will lead them to offer some suggestion to those areas that actually need to have observers so that one could be sure about fairness,” Mr. Rymer said on the radio programme “The People’s Business” last evening November 9, 2011.

He proudly said that while some felt it was a little insulting to have persons outside of the Territory come to observe the elections, the Virgin Islands has always had free and fair elections for many years. “I remember saying one time in my broadcast that this is one of the few places in the world that you can have elections and you never see a rock thrown or a bottle blown. The people of our country must be given great congratulations for that. It speaks to us to who we are, it speaks to how we try to achieve...we are a responsible people and that is why I think we were able to conduct our election the way they were and with the quality of expertise,” Mr. Rymer said.

Meanwhile, the Joint Observer Mission has already made glorifying remarks about the VI’s electoral process. “The British Virgin Islands enjoys an enviable reputation of having a well run electoral process and just as enviable for having a citizenry that believes in the fairness of that process. Such national confidence in the system allows for the free exchange of views that are the hallmark of a democratic process at work”, were the words of the Joint Observer Mission that came to the territory for the just concluded General Elections,” said Leader of the Mission Ambassador Rudolph Collins at a press conference at the Treasure Isle Conference Room on November 9, 2011.

Mr. Rudolph Collins said the mission concluded that there was nothing untoward, unconstitutional, illegal or otherwise that took place, which could be construed as having a significant influence on the outcome of the elections. “We were satisfied with how the entire process was conducted. In the circumstances the Mission wishes to affirm that the will of the people of the British Virgin Islands was fairly and freely expressed in an open democratic process during the national elections 2011.”

Collins had also stated that the International Observer Mission was invited by His Excellency Governor Boyd McCleary CMG, CVO to observe the elections and consisted two teams representing the Caribbean Community (Caricom) and the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.