The European Union (EU) has launched an Election Observer Mission to Guyana for the upcoming elections.
The mission is being led by Robert Biedron, who is a Member of the European Parliament from Poland.
At a press conference at the Pegasus Hotel on Friday, Biedron explained that the EU Election Observation Mission (EOM) will observe and analyze all aspects of the electoral process, including the election administration, legal framework, conduct of the campaign, involvement of civil society, and media coverage, including on digital and social media platforms. He said the mission will assess compliance with Guyana’s electoral laws as well as regional and international commitments to democratic elections.
“We will assess the extent to which the elections complied with the laws of Guyana as well as Guyana’s international and regional commitment to democratic elections. Our role is to observe the entire electoral process,” the Chief Observer said.
Already, the core team on the ground has held meetings with several stakeholders, including institutional representatives, leaders of political parties and representatives of civil society organization including representatives of indigenous communities. It has also met with the diplomatic and international community including other observer missions.
Biedron said in total, 50 EU observers are expected to arrive in the country. The mission is the second full-scale EU Observation Mission to Guyana.
“We will deploy 14 long term observers across all 10 regions of Guyana. They will observe electoral preparations, campaigning and the broader political environment and report back to our core team in Georgetown. Their observation will contribute to the mission’s impartial and informed assessment of the electoral process. Shortly before Election Day, we will be joined by an additional 20 long term observers, who will observe voting and the tabulation of elections. All together, we will expect to have around 50 observers on the ground,” the Chief Observer explained.
He said the presence of the EU EOM demonstrates the EU’s commitment to inclusive, transparent and credible elections in Guyana.
Emphasizing that the mission is “fully” independent and is operating separate and apart from the EU Delegation in Guyana, EU Member States and other EU institutions, Biedron made it clear that the mission at no time will interfere with the country’s electoral process. He stressed that the objective is to observe, noting that the mission’s only concern is about the integrity of the process.
“EU observers follow a strict code of conduct for international observers in line with the Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation endorsed by the United Nations. They do not interfere in the electoral processes at any stage. We are here to observe whether the electoral process is being conducted in a transparent and credible manner,” he said.
On September 3, two days after the elections, the EU EOM will issue a preliminary report on its initial findings. However, a comprehensive final report, which will include recommendations for possible electoral reform, will be published and presented approximately two months after the conclusion of the elections.
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