Citing the ongoing matters in the court, the security environment in Guyana and concerns about the coronavirus, the Carter Center has made a decision to withdraw its electoral observer team from Guyana. 

In a statement this afternoon, the Center said it remains committed to promoting democracy and constitutional reform in Guyana and is willing to return when the electoral process resumes, once international travel is available. 

The co-chair of the Carter Center Observer Mission, Jason Carter said the security environment in Georgetown has declined in the wake of the impasse created by the non-transparent tabulation process in Region 4. 

He noted that International observers have been harassed, and protestors supportive of the coalition have at times blocked international observers from doing their work. 

He also said Specific threats have also been made against the international community that are unacceptable and further undermine the credibility of the electoral process.

Mr. Carter said the Centre hopes that conditions will be in place for CARICOM to return to Guyana to supervise a national recount, adding that it has noted GECOM’s willingness to support the recount under CARICOM’s supervision.

The Carter Center said it hopes that any remaining legal issues hindering the recount can be addressed quickly to avoid further delaying a satisfactory resolution to the electoral process.

Guyana’s electoral process began well, the Center noted, but the tabulation process in Region 4 had its credibility deteriorated when after some delays, results were announced before the region’s full results were transparently tabulated.

The Carter Center said the environment at the GECOM office where the tabulation was being conducted for Region 4 was at times chaotic because of the large number of persons present and the efforts by PPP/C representatives and others to disrupt the declaration of results.

Beyond the election, The Carter Center said it continues to believe that Guyana’s winner-takes-all system is in need of reform and encourages all parties to commit to national reconciliation and to completing key constitutional reforms in the near future.

During its time in Guyana, the Carter Center held a number of meetings with the leaders of the political parties and other stakeholders.

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