July 30, 2009
In response to the overwhelming demands for a Calypso competition which involved the public in the selection of its finalists, The National Cultural Foundation introduced the SweetSoca competition on the Crop Over calendar for the first time this year.
It was determined that the public would vote for the 8 finalists either by texting using LIME or Digicel services, or by voting on-line. These processes were considered as the two which afforded the greatest opportunity for everyone to participate.
The attention attracted was tremendous and the on-line activity surpassed expectations. However upon close observation an anomaly in the on-line voting was detected which led to the discovery of a flaw that was leading to a manipulation of the outcome of the vote.
In order to maintain the integrity of the competition while still permitting public participation, the National Cultural Foundation has advised the sponsors of the SweetSoca Competition;:98 The One and Banks of the decision to immediately cancel the on-line voting component. Voting by text using LIME and Digicel remain.
Votes cast in the on line component will not be considered.