Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Carter Center, Jason Carter, along with Former Senegalese Prime Minister, Aminata Touré, on Monday reported that it is clear that there is an excitement and it is clear that people are showing up and interested in exercising their right to vote.
Former Prime Minister of Senegal, Aminata Touré and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Carter Center, Jason J Carter on Monday
The duo were the co-leaders of the Carter Centre Observer Mission in Guyana and was at the time referencing their initial observations of the March 2, General and Regional Elections held in Guyana.
This year’s mission is the fifth to be fielded to Guyana since the 1992 General and Regional Elections.
The former Senegalese Prime Minister along with Carter provided an update for members of the media while at Campbellville Secondary School, Georgetown, where it was reported that the team observed a noticeably large turnout at many of the Polling Stations they visited.
It was pointed out that the mission is fielding a team of more than 40 individuals, spread across each of the 10 administrative regions in Guyana – some in Guyana for some months now.
Some of the members of the European Union’s Elections Observer Mission chatting with head of the OAS mission, Bruce Golding
The team declined to provide any specific details regarding concerns or aspects of its observations, noting that the reports from each of the regions would first have to be assimilated into a single amalgamated report.
“We have teams in every single region of Guyana today [Monday] observing the process, over the next few days we will be collecting those reports and will be issuing recommendations with respect to this elections,” he said.
According to Carter, his family “…has a very personal connection to this country, we are committed to this democracy and have seen today (Monday) the people of Guyana are also committed to democracy and that is an exciting moment.”
Democracy
Meanwhile, the former Senegalese Prime Minister in her remarks shared that Elections Day, “is a big day for Guyanese democracy.”
According to Touré, “…we do know that through democracy we build our nation as one nation”.
She used the occasion to urge patience, “because election is also about being patient and hopefully everybody will be able to express themselves in their right to vote.”
With more than 40 individuals scattered across the country, she reported that the teams commenced yesterday’s process at 5:30 am, since “we wanted to witness from the opening.”
She said too that the Carter Center will have a team that will be on the ground 24 hours, and that they will “be there for the counting, the closing, the calculation, and the tabulation [of votes]”
It was reported to the media that the Carter Center has been liaising with other International Observer Missions in Guyana for the historic elections, in addition to splitting its team thinly, in order to cover more ground.
EU observers
Chief of Mission for the European Union’s (EU) Elections Observer Mission, Urmas Paet – while at the Six Head Lewis Boxing Gym in Albouystown, Georgetown – lauded the professionalism and attitudes observed during the first half of the day since the opening of polls.
He reiterated that the most important thing on Elections Day is that the exercise was professionally organised and also the population was professional, “so that the real will of Guyanese people will be clear as possible.”
Speaking to the importance of observer missions, Paet told media operatives these are needed for Guyana, since “Guyanese people also need assurance from neutral observers that everything was done correctly and if not, this was what was wrong.”
He said too observer missions are “also important for the future legitimacy, your political life and future political development that’s why it [is] mostly important for Guyana”. Paet noted also that the process also served as an important tool for the EU, since “our main interest is that Guyana and Guyana’s democracy will develop further so that the rule of law will be strengthened and the real political will of Guyanese people can be expressed freely without any fear or any other problems.”
Speaking to the process being used by the EU, he reported that the team had been paying attention to not only the Elections Day activities but also situational developments before Elections Day and activities on Elections Day, “how the performance of elections is going on at Polling Stations” in addition to the tabulation of the results.
Fielding a 55-member delegation, Paet told media operatives that while there were no negative reports at the time from Polling Stations across the country, the team had some concerns related to the campaign period.
The specifics, he said will be dealt with on March 4, 2020, when the EU presents its final report, complete with recommendations.
