By Svetlana Marshall

President Irfaan Ali has blasted the European Union (EU) Election Observation Mission (EOM) over its final report on the Guyana 2025 Elections, which found that there was “undue advantage of incumbency” leading to an uneven playing field during the September 1 elections in Guyana.

The President is now questioning the independence of the local staff hired by the Election Observer Mission and their possible influence on the report.

 The President weighed in on the EU Election Observer Mission’s final report hours the Government was presented with a copy of the report by the Mission’s Chief Observer Robert Biedron and team.

While pointing out that a number of Election Observation Missions found that the 2025 Elections were “free and fair” due to the effective management of the elections by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), President Ali said it was important to address the findings of the EU EOM, which he deemed to be unfair, and far from the truth, particularly in regards to its criticism of the ruling People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C).

He questioned the EOM’s adherence to international practices in the hiring of local staff, suggesting that they are politically aligned, and therefore lack independence.

“If you go through some of the staff that were hired in this process by the EU, their own staff, that influence the outcome of the report, you will have to question those persons’ independence because they are associated with or are in association with persons who will have expressed partisan positions on many issues,” the President said.

All of the international election observer missions hired local staff members. However, those local staff members were not involved in the compilation or writing of the election reports, News Source understands.

The EU had one of the largest election observer missions in Guyana for the elections, with its international observers spread across the country for several weeks leading up to election day.

The EU Election Observers found that the country’s election was peaceful and well run, but took place in a context of deep political polarization. It said the undue advantage by the incumbency had created an uneven playing field.

But according to the President, it was “ridiculous” to suggest that the ruling party had an “undue advantage” when compared to the other five parties that contested the elections. According to him, the mission’s criticisms of the PPP/C is not based on facts.

“Now the reports speak about uneven playing field and undue advantage by incumbency, which I find ridiculous, to say the least. First of all, this comment is not based on any facts. It is based primarily on complaints by political participants in the elections and their affiliates. We made it very clear that in any system there are disadvantages the incumbency and advantages to incumbency. If an incumbency, an incoming government performed badly, did not fulfill its manifesto, then they are faced with the disadvantage of their poor performance. If they had to manage like we did in a period of COVID, in two national floods, in a period where the world had its highest food prices, highest transportation costs, in an environment in which active participation to buy votes by a political party and by the way, this is a nationally recognized fact and nowhere in the report, and nowhere in the report did they mention this,” the President said.

He said there are both positives and negatives to incumbency, and his party’s success at the September 1 polls was based on its performance.

In its report, the EU Election Observer Mission said Guyana needs to adopt clear and comprehensive campaign rules, including for the conduct of public officials and for the use of all types of state assets to avoid undue advantage of incumbency.

Its recommendation was based on the use of state resources to fuel the incumbent’s election campaign, including the commissioning of schools and other facilities. According to the mission, the lines became blurred during the elections campaign.  

But President Ali said the Government was simply making good on its commitment to the people.

“We had schools, we had hospitals, we had health centers. We had roads to be opened throughout the period to be commissioned –   that’s not an incumbency advantage, that is a commitment that a government made in its manifesto of 2020-2025, that the incumbent would have delivered on. An incumbent has a duty and responsibility like any other country in the European Union. In the European Union, governments campaigned on their delivery, governments campaigned on their results. And these hospitals, these schools, these roads, this subsidy to our rice farmers, they were all results of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic Government. Is the report saying that as part of incumbency must not include campaigning and celebrating the successes of the government? What nonsense is that?”” the President said.

Mr. Ali questioned how the “playing field” could have been made “uneven” by the mere execution of the Government’s roles and responsibilities, and the administration of the 2025 Budget.

According to the President, the report lacks analysis where it criticizes the PPP/C and the use of state resources including the state media.

He said from all indications, the 2025 Elections were well managed by the Elections Commission and its Secretariat.

“The voting, counting and tabulation – three of the most important components of a free and fair election – were efficient and professional. That is to say, free from influence, free from bias, and those figures would have demonstrated the will of the people,” the President said.

President Ali noted that the report also pointed to improved transparency in the electoral process as a result of legal and procedural reforms.

According to him, the 2022 Electoral reforms consolidated laws and introduced over 100 technical improvements, including the digital publication of Statements of Poll (SOPs).

He said while the report pointed to the election taking place in an environment of “deep political polarization,” it is a fact that the election was transparent, and the distrust was largely as a result of the scar left from 2020 and the alleged attempt at electoral fraud.

The President said his Government is taking additional steps to further enhance the laws governing the Electoral process in the country, and will address issues such as Campaign Financing and Constitutional Reform.

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