No evidence of “dead” or multiple voting on Election Day – EU observers

There was no evidence of “dead” or multiple voting on Election Day, according to the European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) on Wednesday.
Deputy Chief Observer Vania Angelova, during a post-election press conference at the Pegasus Suites in Georgetown, told reporters that despite repeated claims in the pre-election period, observers on the ground saw no evidence of persons voting in the names of deceased citizens or of individuals casting more than one ballot.

“The accuracy of the voter list was questioned during the campaign and the pre-election period by the opposition political parties and also by the media and different interlocutors,” Angelova acknowledged. “However, during our observation, we haven’t seen any or heard about cases of impersonation of voters during the voting process… No, no multiple voting as well.”
Her reassurance comes against the backdrop of years of allegations over Guyana’s register of electors, which this year contained 757,069 registered voters. Opposition parties had charged that the list was “bloated”, citing the inclusion of overseas-based Guyanese and dead persons. But according to the EU’s preliminary findings, while those concerns were widely aired during the campaign, they did not translate into abuses on Election Day.

Also speaking at the media briefing, Chief Observer Robert Biedroń described the September 1 polls as being conducted in a peaceful and orderly fashion, with high levels of professionalism by polling staff across the country.
“On 1 September, Guyana held its General and Regional Elections in a peaceful and orderly manner,” he said. “Voters queued patiently, polling stations opened on time, and polling staff carried out their duties professionally and efficiently.”
The EU deployed 50 observers from all EU member states and Norway, who together visited more than 250 polling stations across all ten regions of Guyana, from coastal communities to the hinterland and Indigenous villages. Their wide coverage, Biedroń explained, gave the mission confidence in its preliminary conclusions.
The observers also noted that six political parties were approved to contest, providing voters with a genuine and competitive choice. In total, 2424 candidates contested, including 771 for the National Assembly, half of whom were women.
Biedroń stressed that fundamental freedoms were largely respected during the campaign and that the conduct of Election Day itself reflected voters’ determination to participate peacefully in the democratic process.
The mission pointed to several safeguards that strengthened confidence in the process. Restrictions on the use of mobile phones inside polling stations were enforced to protect ballot secrecy. Party agents were present at every polling station observed, providing an additional layer of oversight.
Observers consistently reported professionalism among polling staff, many of whom were women, and noted that citizens turned out with patience and determination to cast their votes.
“Our observers saw professional polling staff, mostly women, facilitating the process efficiently across towns and villages of Guyana,” Biedroń said.
While praising the peaceful and inclusive conduct of the elections, the EU mission noted several structural challenges. He said that political polarisation continues to influence public confidence in key institutions, particularly the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), whose decision-making has been publicly divided along political lines.
The mission also highlighted campaign finance as a major gap, noting that the system remains largely unregulated, allowing incumbency advantages to shape the campaign through state resources and media exposure.
The media environment was described as “highly politicised”, with many outlets aligned to political actors and independent journalists sometimes facing verbal attacks from officials.
At the same time, social media played an outsized role, both as a platform for political messaging and as a channel for misinformation.
Despite these issues, Biedroń underlined that the 2025 elections offered voters meaningful options and that the process was broadly inclusive.
“Overall, the elections were peaceful, inclusive, and efficiently organised, offering citizens meaningful choices,” he said. “Addressing challenges such as political polarisation, incumbency advantages, and legal gaps will be crucial to further strengthen trust in the system.”
The EU EOM said it will remain in Guyana as the tabulation of results continues and has pledged to publish a final report in the coming weeks, including recommendations for reforms to further improve electoral transparency and integrity.