2025 General and Regional Election: Subjective, partisan, lacks analysis – Pres Ali on sections of EU report

…says report skilfully avoided vote-buying, misinformation campaign by Opposition

…tells EU that incumbents must be able to celebrate delivered promises

President Dr Irfaan Ali has sharply criticised aspects of the European Union Election Observation Mission’s (EU-EOM) final report on Guyana’s 2025 General and Regional Elections, describing sections of the document as “subjective, partisan, completely biased” and lacking analytical depth.
While welcoming the mission’s presence and acknowledging the report’s confirmation that the elections were peaceful and professionally managed, the President said several conclusions failed to reflect factual realities and ignored critical issues such as opposition vote-buying and targeted online misinformation.
In an address to the nation on Wednesday evening, President Ali said the EU report must be examined not only for what it contains but also for what it “skilfully avoided”. He stressed that while the body of international observation missions upheld the credibility of the 2025 polls, the EU must improve its adherence to best practice in the hiring of local staff.
“I believe that whilst all these reports point to the positive nature of the elections, I believe the time has come where we must get these missions, like the EU in this case, to adhere to international best practices in the hiring of local staff. If you go through some of the staff that were hired in this process by the EU, their own staff that influenced the outcome of the report, you would have to question those persons’ independence, because they are associated with or are in association with persons who would have expressed partisan positions on many issues. The EU has always been an important part of election observation in Guyana,” the President said.

Elections were peaceful, calm and efficient
The President began by drawing attention to the EU-EOM’s positive conclusions, noting that the report itself acknowledged that Election Day was “peaceful, calm and orderly” and that voting, counting and tabulation were administered “efficiently and professionally”.
“These are the most important components of a free and fair election,” the President said, adding that the report clearly states that GECOM staff performed well and that women made up 87 percent of election-day workers and 81 percent of presiding officers, demonstrating strong gender participation.
Ali also underscored the report’s confirmation of major electoral reforms implemented since 2022, including more than 100 technical improvements, real-time publication of Statements of Poll, tighter procedures, increased penalties for electoral offences, enhanced logistical operations, and more inclusive voter education.

Addresses incumbency advantage
The President reserved his strongest criticism for the report’s conclusion that incumbency created an undue advantage in the 2025 campaign. He said the EU failed to provide evidence and instead relied on complaints from political actors.
“This comment is not based on any facts,” Ali stated. “That is a commitment that a Government made in its manifesto of 2020 to 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 campaign on their delivery. Governments campaign on their results. And these hospitals, these schools, these roads, the subsidy to our rice farmers, they were all results of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic Government. Is the report saying that incumbency, as part of incumbency, must not include campaigning and celebrating the successes of the Government? What nonsense is that? The Government has a responsibility to highlight and celebrate its accomplishments and its results.”
He emphasised that in European democracies, incumbents routinely campaign on their achievements. “Is the report saying Governments must not celebrate their success? What nonsense is that?”
Ali said all new or expanded social programmes referenced in the report were rooted in the 2024 and 2025 national budgets, as well as the PPP/C’s 2020–2025 manifesto. Their rollout, he stressed, was neither electioneering nor preferential treatment but the fulfilment of policy commitments.
“New or expanded social programmes roll out near elections. How is that an uneven playing field? We always had a social agenda based on the budget. This report lacks analysis. Because if they went back to the 2025 budget and the 2024 budget and our manifesto, they will see that every single one of the social programme was alluded to. That we made commitments that we kept and surpassed. And as President, I made it clear that as we surpass commitment, and based on revenue projection, that we are going to give back more to the people. That is not an incumbency advantage. That is delivering,” he further explained.
<<Vote-buying, misinformation>>
The President further argued that the EU-EOM selectively omitted serious concerns, including vote-buying reportedly undertaken by opposition elements and a documented online misinformation campaign against the ruling party. Against this backdrop, he recalled videos circulating on social media with the leader of one opposition contesting party on the campaign trail sharing money with members of Indigenous villages in the hinterland.
“There is no mention of misuse of social media by non-political actors and operatives targeting the ruling party,” he said. “The report skilfully avoided that.”
“We value the participation of the EU, but like any entity, they too must re-evaluate where some narratives come from,” he said. “We look forward to continuing our collaboration as we work to build a stronger and more resilient electoral system,” he added.