A formal invitation extended by Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne in a letter dated April 5, 2026, has brought the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat into the island nation’s upcoming electoral process, with an independent nine-member election observation mission already deployed to monitor the general election scheduled for April 30, 2026.
Following receipt of the invitation, CARICOM’s Secretary-General promptly confirmed the organization’s commitment to the mission, moving quickly to finalize all operational and logistical arrangements for the observer team. The mission is led by Maxine McClean, a sitting member of Barbados’ Electoral and Boundaries Commission, with Herman St. Helen, Chief Elections Officer of Saint Lucia, serving as Deputy Chief of Mission. The remaining seven members of the team bring deep electoral expertise from across the Caribbean bloc: they include Felix Gregoire, Chairman of Dominica’s Public Service Commission; Rohan Porter, Acting Assistant Director of Elections for Field Operations at Jamaica’s electoral body; Stephanie Bram, an Electoral Bureau member from Suriname; and Karla Dayton Edwards, Commissioner of Trinidad and Tobago’s Election and Boundaries Commission. Three CARICOM Secretariat staff based in the Foreign and Community Relations division—Programme Manager Brian Bellevue, Project Officer Amos Lindor, and Administrative Assistant Denise Morgan—provide operational and administrative support to the observer team.
The core leadership and Secretariat support contingent touched down in Antigua and Barbuda on April 23, 2026, kicking off a week-long pre-election and election monitoring process. In the days leading up to polling day, the mission has planned a full schedule of consultations with a broad range of electoral stakeholders to build a comprehensive understanding of the pre-vote context. These meetings include discussions with representatives from the Antigua and Barbuda government, the ruling political party, and the official opposition, as well as direct talks with the Antigua and Barbuda Electoral Commission and the national Supervisor of Elections. The mission has also prioritized outreach to grassroots and civil society groups, planning sessions with representatives of women’s organizations, youth groups, disability advocacy networks, the local business community, religious institutions, labor unions, and independent media outlets.
On polling day, April 30, the full observer team will monitor every stage of the electoral process from start to finish. Observers will be on site to assess pre-opening preparations at polling stations, the formal opening of voting locations, the conduct of ballot casting throughout the day, the official closure of polls, the manual and electronic counting of ballots, and the compilation of official precinct-level poll statements. Beyond on-the-ground observation, the mission has a clear set of objectives: it will collect voting result data to conduct independent quantitative verification of the official election results, document qualitative observations about the conduct of electoral officials, political participants, and the overall fairness of the electoral environment, and conduct a preliminary assessment of the election outcome and its immediate short-term impacts on Antigua and Barbuda’s social and political landscape.
Following the completion of its monitoring activities, the full mission is scheduled to depart Antigua and Barbuda on May 3, 2026. In a public statement ahead of the election, the CARICOM Election Observation Mission extended its gratitude to all stakeholders who have already cooperated to facilitate the mission’s work, noting that the opportunity to support and strengthen democratic governance in Antigua and Barbuda is a responsibility the entire team takes seriously. The mission also recognized the warm hospitality and collaborative reception it has received from national authorities and local actors since its arrival.