The Carter Center has launched its international Election Observation Mission to Guyana ahead of the upcoming elections, with its pre-elections mission arriving in Guyana today, the organisation has announced.
The Center was invited to observe this year’s elections by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The pre-election mission, includes a four-person core team of experts from the United States, Georgia, and the United Kingdom.
In a statement, the Carter Center said additional electoral experts and observers will join the team closer to Election day on September 1, 2025.
“We look forward to engaging with Guyanese stakeholders across the political spectrum and civil society to provide an independent and impartial assessment of the electoral process. We hope our observation and reporting will help the Guyanese people assess the credibility of the elections, while providing useful recommendations for reform and encouraging transparency,” said Carter Center Field Office Director Jason Calder.
The Center said its election observation work is conducted in accordance with the 2005 Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation and makes assessments based on relevant parts of national legal frameworks, as well as regional and international obligations for democratic elections. Since 1992, the Center has worked in Guyana to strengthen democracy, support civil society, encourage sustainable development, and reinforce the rule of law.
“The Carter Center has had a long-standing commitment to democracy in Guyana, and we are honored to launch this international election observation mission in support of the electoral process,” said David Carroll, director of the Carter Center’s Democracy Program.
In its 2020 Elections report, The Carter Center urged Guyana’s political leaders to commit to reform the “winner-takes-all” election system currently in use. It also recommended that critical issues of constitutional reform and key electoral reforms be addressed before the next elections, which is now scheduled for September 1, 2025.
The Carter Center said Guyana’s 2020 elections turned out to be a true test of the country’s democracy, highlighting deep divides that persist in the Guyanese society and the ways that the current political and electoral systems reinforce those divisions.
The Carter Center has organized more than 125 election observation missions in 100 countries, including in Guyana in 1992, 2001, 2006, 2015, and 2020. In addition to work on elections, the Center has conducted a range of activities in Guyana, including helping Guyanese articulate a comprehensive vision and development strategy; supporting civil society groups working to advance the status of women, youth, and Amerindians as well as assist the local judiciary in capacity building.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login