OAS Electoral Mission calls for peaceful, orderly elections

– urges responsible action, citizens’ participation

As Guyanese head to the polls on Monday, September 1, to cast their ballots, the Electoral Observation Mission (EOM) of the Organisation of American States (OAS) says is it looking forward to a peaceful and orderly electoral process.
Led by former Prime Minister (PM) of Jamaica Bruce Golding, the OAS had fielded an EOM comprising 27 experts and observers from 18 countries to monitor the upcoming polls in Guyana. In a statement on Saturday, the OAS EOM stated that the strength of a democracy is rooted in citizens’ free and active participation in their country’s elections. It added that any disputes regarding the results should be resolved through the mechanisms established by law, in order to provide certainty to all parties involved. “The Mission therefore urges all political parties, candidates and citizens to act responsibly and with a shared commitment to strengthening their democratic systems and safeguarding the future of Guyana,” the missive detailed. This call by the OAS comes on the heels of the organisation playing a major role in condemning the blatant efforts during the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections to undermine democracy in Guyana.

At the 2020 elections, Golding had also headed the OAS mission here and had said in his preliminary report that he “has never seen a more transparent effort to alter the results of an election.” This was after the senior officials of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) attempted to inflate voting figures from Region Four – Guyana’s largest voting district – in favour of the then A Partnership for National Unity and the Alliance for Change (APNU/AFC) Coalition regime.
Golding had said in his statement at the time that, “It takes an extraordinarily courageous mind to present fictitious numbers when such a sturdy paper trail exists.” Nevertheless, since its deployment to Guyana to observe the upcoming election, the new OAS Mission has held meetings with key stakeholders, including Government officials, GECOM, political parties, civil society representatives and the international community. “These efforts have helped to provide a comprehensive perspective on the electoral process and complement the Mission’s direct observation,” the organisation stated. Only recently, the OAS EOM met with incumbent President Dr Irfaan Ali and several Cabinet Ministers at State House.
Golding, along with core members of the team including Deputy Chief of Mission Melene Glynn, Specialists Coordinator Clarissa Ribeiro and Press Officer Diego Paez attended the engagement. President Ali briefed the team on electoral legislative amendments to prevent the reoccurrence of the attempted rigging that occurred in 2020. He explained that the changes were also based on recommendations from previous electoral observer mission reports. Moreover, the incumbent Head of State further shared that the Government is committed to the constitutional reform process to promote democracy. During the meeting, Dr Ali was joined by Attorney General (AG) and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall; Governance and Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Gail Teixeira; and Agriculture Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha. Together, they underscored the Government’s commitment to strengthening democratic institutions and highlighted the critical role of the OAS in safeguarding transparency and integrity throughout Guyana’s electoral process.

Meanwhile, the OAS Mission on Friday also met with the European Union’s Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) 2025 to discuss the electoral process in Guyana as part of their shared commitment to democracy around the world and supporting free and fair elections in Guyana. On Monday, the OAS EOM team will observe electoral activities, from the setup of polling stations to the counting of votes and the presentation of the results. The organisation, in a previous statement, explained that it will focus on electoral organisation and registries, electoral technology, political-electoral financing, electoral justice and the political participation of women – all of which will allow the team to analyse the process in a structured and technically rigorous manner. The OAS EOM was deployed on August 19 and arrived in Guyana just in time to observe the Disciplined Services vote on August 22. In the days after the September 1 Election, the OAS EOM will present its Preliminary Report with observations and recommendations that seek to strengthen the country’s democratic and electoral processes. This is the seventh Mission that the OAS has deployed in Guyana, and it is made possible thanks to the financial contributions of Brazil, Canada, Chile, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Morocco, Peru, Spain, and the United States (US).