CAFFE denies claiming 21% of voters turned away despite being in line on time
Published:Thursday | September 11, 2025 | 12:11 AM
Citizens Action for Free and Fair Elections (CAFFE) is moving to set the record straight that it did not claim that, at 21 per cent of polling stations, voters were turned away and not allowed to vote, despite being in the line at 5 p.m., at the close of polls on September 3.
Grace Baston, chairman of CAFFE, told The Gleaner that its statement to the media was “crystal-clear”, pointing out that it was only reporting on two-thirds of its volunteers in the field who had submitted a report. She said that translates to about 300 people. Of that number, 21 per cent responded positively to the question of “Were there people in the line at 5 p.m. who were not allowed to vote?”
Baston said CAFFE indicated that the number was so small that it would not have materially affected the outcome of the results of the election, and that the election watchdog was ready to say that the elections reflected the will of the electorate.
“To our surprise, this news network made a statement that CAFFE claims that in 21 per cent of polling stations there was this irregularity,” Baston said, indicating that the EOJ pointed to a news release from Nationwide News Network.
She said the EOJ had asked CAFFE to explain how it was that the election watchdog could claim that in 21 per cent, or more than 1,000 polling stations, this had occurred.
“I am baffled,” said Baston, who told The Gleaner that she immediately contacted the Electoral Office of Jamaica (EOJ) and asked if it had not read CAFFE’s release, which stated that only two-thirds of its observers responded to the question.
“CAFFE at no time claimed that in 21 per cent of all polling stations this was the case.”
However, she conceded that after carrying out its investigations, it was revealed that in all but one case, the observers misunderstood the question.
“That is an issue for CAFFE. It points to the fact that we need to make sure there is something in the wording of that question that does not lead to any ambiguity. We have to clarify that because we never had that problem before, as two or three volunteers may make a mistake, but not 60 of them,” she explained.
She said that in only one polling location did an observer witness an elector being turned away. She said the elector claimed she was in the bathroom and the presiding officer rebuffed that assertion and, after protestations, the prospective voter was not allowed to cast her ballot.
NO RETRACTIONS
Baston said CAFFE shared the results of its investigations into its 60 reports with the EOJ on Tuesday.
“But CAFFE does not owe a retraction of allegations of 21 per cent of polling stations in Jamaica turning people away who were in the line at 5 p.m.,” she insisted.
In a news release yesterday, the EOJ said it met and considered a statement by CAFFE implying that at 21 per cent of polling stations, voters were turned away and not allowed to vote despite being in the line at the 5 p.m.
The Electoral Commission of Jamaica (ECJ) said it “absolutely rejects this assertion as being false, as it tarnishes the result of the poll and the ECJ’s reputation”.
The ECJ said it affirms its commitment to conducting free and fair elections and is satisfied with the results of the election exercise conducted on September 3.
The electoral body called on CAFFE to make a complete withdrawal of the statement that was placed in the public domain.