In the wake of Saint Lucia’s December 1st general elections, Deputy Prime Minister Dr Ernest Hilaire has moved to dismiss claims of voter fraud, emphasizing the integrity of the nation’s paper-based electoral system.
Addressing post-election allegations made by Miami-based consultant Kenneth Rijock, Dr Hilaire said, “So when all of a sudden you hear people starting to speak about electronic fraud, electronic fraud? What electronic fraud in Central? We do it manually. People sit at a desk and let me tell you, the polls close at six o’clock. By 7:30pm, I had agents leaving the station calling me and giving me the results of their boxes. That’s it. That’s our democracy.”
Dr Hilaire also reiterated that the method of vote counting is still manual.
“These people did it old school, one, two, three, four, cross, one, two, three, four, that’s it. And both parties agreed to it. So when you have people starting to say those things, it’s undermining our own democratic process, our well-established, respected democratic processes. And that should be fought against.”
Dr Hilaire also urged political actors and the public to focus on the future rather than contesting settled results.
“That’s why when you read some of the stuff in the post-election period, you’re a little disappointed…You lost that battle. Go in hibernation for a while and then come back again. But it doesn’t always happen that way. You still have to keep your guard up and you still have to do what you have to do. But let’s move on and let’s move forward together.”
The Deputy Prime Minister’s remarks underscore the government’s commitment to maintaining transparency and confidence in Saint Lucia’s electoral process while countering misinformation in the post-election period.