Isle of Man election: Observers to monitor all 12 counts

Stewart Dickson said the observers would not "interfere" with any of the election processes

International observers will be present at all 12 count locations for the House of Keys general election.

The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association has been invited to polling stations on Thursday by the government.

It will be the first time observers have monitored a Manx general election and will cost about £40,000, paid for by the treasury.

Head of the monitoring team Stewart Dickson said the observers had "total independence".

The delegation has already been considering the inclusivity and accessibility of the election process for candidates, and the transparency for voters.

On polling day itself they will be observing how the election works at polling stations island-wide in the 12 constituencies.

There are 65 candidates vying to fill the 24 seats in the House of Keys.

Members of the team arrived on the island last Tuesday

Mr Dickson said: "We have accreditation from the government to have access all areas effectively, but not to interfere in anything that we see going on.

"It's done on a contractual basis, yes they're paying for that, but it's on the clear understanding that we have total independence."

Observers will attend the polling stations throughout the day and monitor the counts when the polls close at 20:00 BST, he said.

Mr Dickson said if they see election code or rules being broken they would "not be commenting at the point in time that we see something happening".

Initial findings about the island's electoral process would be shared on Saturday, he said, with a final report and recommendations published two months later.