Commonwealth deploys observer group to monitor Guyana’s elections

…led by Tonga’s ex-Foreign Minister, Tonga team will assess polls

The Commonwealth will be deploying an Observer Group to Guyana to monitor the upcoming September 1, 2025, General and Regional Elections with a mandate to consider factors which could affect the credibility of the electoral process as a whole.
Led by former Foreign Affairs Minister of Tonga, Fekitamoeloa Katoa ‘Utoikamanu, the Commonwealth Observer Group (COG) comprises eminent Commonwealth citizens with distinguished backgrounds in law, election administration, diplomacy, human rights, civil society, politics and media, among others.
The members will assess whether the elections have been conducted according to the standards for democratic elections to which all Commonwealth member states have committed themselves, with particular reference to the Commonwealth Charter, national legislation and other relevant regional and international commitments.
Announcing the team in London, Commonwealth Secretary-General Shirley Botchwey said, “The Commonwealth Observer Group is mandated to operate with impartiality and independence. It is empowered to offer recommendations on institutional, procedural, or other relevant matters that could support relevant stakeholders in enhancing the conduct of future elections. This commitment to impartiality and constructive feedback underscores our dedication to supporting democratic processes across our member countries throughout an election cycle.”
The Commonwealth Secretary-General also expressed gratitude to the Chairperson, who will lead the COG, and to each of the eminent experts who will participate in this important democratic exercise.
At the end of the exercise, the Commonwealth Observer Group will submit a report containing their observations and recommendations to the Commonwealth Secretary-General. This report will subsequently be shared with the Government of Guyana, the Elections Commission, political parties, and Commonwealth member Governments.
The Commonwealth Observer Group will be in Guyana from August 25 to September 7, 2025, and will be supported by a six-member staff team from the Commonwealth Secretariat, led by Linford Andrews, Adviser and Head of the Electoral Support Section in the Governance and Peace Directorate.
In addition to Chairperson ‘Utoikamanu, the other members of the Commonwealth Observer Group to Guyana includes: Deputy Executive Director, Centre for Peace and Justice, BRAC University – Bangladesh, Shahariar Sadat; Women’s rights activist – The Bahamas, Alicia Wallace; Chief Electoral Officer – Barbados, Angela Taylor; Former President of the Belize Senate and Mayor of Belize City – Belize, Darrell Bradley; Digital media strategist and communications professional – Nigeria, Ademola Adeeko; Communication lecturer, and award-winning journalist – Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Demion McTair; Former Member of Parliament – Sri Lanka, Dr Sudarshini Perpetua Fernandopulle; Developmental specialist and human rights advocate – Trinidad and Tobago, Terry Dale Ince; Mediator and peace activist – Uganda, Robinah Rubimbwa; and Electoral Expert – United Kingdom, Ben Graham Jones.
The dispatch of this 2025 Commonwealth Observer Group to monitor the upcoming polls in Guyana comes on the heels of the international community, including the Commonwealth, playing a crucial role in ensuring that democracy prevailed following the historic March 2, 2020, General and Regional Elections. At the time, Guyana was plunged into a political deadlock for five months as a result of blatant attempts to steal the elections by some senior electoral officials with the aim of keeping the then A Partnership for National Unity+Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) Coalition regime in power.
In its report, the 2020 COG, led by the late former Prime Minister of Barbados Owen Arthur, noted that despite a smooth polling day on March 2 and tabulation process, “serious difficulties” arose during the tabulation of results for the most populous region – Region Four, which led to serious credibility concerns and ultimately, to the five-month delay to the conclusion of the electoral process.
Then Commonwealth Secretary General Baroness Patricia Scotland, QC, was very vocal during the 2020 election controversy, calling for local stakeholders to accept the results of the national recount that was conducted and confirmed that the People’s Progressive Party/Civic won the 2020 elections.
Commonwealth Secretary-General Baroness Patricia Scotland, QC, has expressed her satisfaction with the Guyana Election Commission’s (GECOM) handling of the five-month fiasco that ensued after the 2020 General and Regional Elections.
During a visit to Guyana in January 2022, Baroness Scotland had met with the seven-member Election Commission in Georgetown and commended GECOM for holding it together during the five-month impasse.
The Commonwealth of Nations, generally known simply as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 54 member states, including Guyana, almost all of which are former territories of the British Empire.