KINGSTOWN, St Vincent (CMC):

St. Vincent and the Grenadines police were continuing their investigations into the discovery of a ballot box by a group of young boys over the weekend.

Police said they were interviewing all members of the Electoral Office after the box was found on Saturday outside a building where it should have been stored.

Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves said that the incident was either due to negligence in the office of the Supervisor of Elections or a gross act of malice and mischievousness.

Describing the issue as a lesson for the Office of the Supervisor of Elections, Gonsalves said that he was nonetheless heartened by the fact that the contents of the ballot box matched the results recorded from the last election two years ago.

The box found contained the ballot papers from polling station B from the Owia Government School polling station in the North Windward Constituency.

According to the results, the ruling Unity Labour Party (ULP) received 90 votes, while the main opposition New Democratic Party (NDP) received 189. The other party, the SVG Green Party did not receive a vote.

In the 2005 general elections, the ULP won by a 12-3 margin over the NDP.

Supervisor of Elections Rodney Adams said that because of the increased number in polling stations for the elections, the excess ballot boxes were stored downstairs the building in a locked room and that the removal of the box remained a mystery.

It maybe that someone with access to the building removed the box, Adams said.

In the last general election, the opposition had claimed there were irregularities in at least three closely contested seats and had threatened to take legal action.