Ahead of 2025 General & Regional Elections: Govt commits to democracy, rule of law during meeting with Carter Center

Ahead of the 2025 General and Regional Elections, President Dr Irfaan Ali on Friday met with a team of representatives from the Carter Center, during which he declared the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government’s commitment to democracy and the rule of law.
The team from the United States-based Carter Center is currently in Guyana on a pre-assessment mission ahead of next year’s polls. President Ali met with the Center’s three-member team on Friday at State House, and during that engagement, he reiterated his Administration’s “…commitment to the democratic process, the rule of law, and the will of the people.”
According to a post on his Facebook page, the Guyanese Head of State underscored his government’s dedication to transparency and accountability, and, further, thanked the Center for their continued cooperation in promoting free and fair elections.
Prime Minister Brigadier (ret’d) Mark Phillips; Minister of Governance and Parliamentary Affairs, Gail Teixeira; Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, SC, and Director of Presidential Affairs, Marcia Nadir-Sharma, also participated in the meeting.

Founder of the Carter Center, former USA President Jimmy Carter, first visited Guyana in 1990, and the Center has since sent four key election observer missions to this country.
The Carter Center was one of the international organisations that observed the controversial March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections in Guyana, and was vocal in condemning the attempts by the then A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (AFC) regime to rig the results and derail the will of the Guyanese people.
On Thursday, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo told reporters at a PPP press conference that Government has invited the Carter Center, the European Union, and other international organisations to observe the upcoming elections.
Prior to Friday’s meeting, the Carter Center pre-assessment mission had engaged the Prime Minister last Tuesday. According to reports, PM Phillips has reaffirmed the Government of Guyana’s steadfast commitment to democracy and the rule of law, and underscored the nation’s dedication to maintaining transparent and fair electoral practices.
The team is also expected to meet VP Jagdeo, and engage Opposition members, private sector representatives, the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) and civil society organisations in a comprehensive engagement that is aimed at ensuring a thorough assessment of the pre-election landscape in Guyana.

Already, the two major political groups – the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) and A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) – have commenced campaigning in their traditional support base. In fact, the PPP/C has concluded its congress to set the pace for the elections, while the major parties in the APNU: People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) and the Alliance for Change (AFC), are holding their Congress and Convention this weekend.
Following the 2020 General and Regional Elections, which deteriorated during the tabulation process, the Carter Center had recommended consolidation of all legislation related to elections to create greater legal clarity and common understanding among stakeholders, and to help ensure the legal framework for elections is more accessible to Guyana’s citizens.
It was further recommended that Guyana enact legislation to regulate political parties’ registration and operations, support freedom of association, and promote broad multi-ethnic parties that can represent citizens’ interests in Government.
The Carter Center had also urged Guyana’s political leaders to make critical issues of constitutional reform an urgent priority, and commit to completing key reforms — including reform of the “winner-takes-all” election system — well before the next General Elections.
Specifically, the Center had recommended that the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) introduce a Political Party Code of Conduct earlier in the electoral process; increase transparency of GECOM’s operations and decision-making; update the voter registry and review voter registration procedures; better define operational procedures; enforce existing campaign finance regulations; and develop and publicize written procedures for tabulation.
Currently, several former employees of GECOM, including the Chief Elections Officer and Deputy Chief Elections Officer, are before the court on matters relating to electoral fraud. (G-8)