PPP has no apology for campaigning on delivered promises, record – Jagdeo on Carter Center’s report

…welcomes preliminary report but flags missed vote-buying, banking concerns

While generally welcoming the findings of the Carter Center Electoral Observation Mission in Guyana, the General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), Dr Bharrat Jagdeo, has raised several concerns with the preliminary report released ahead of the September 1 General and Regional Elections.
Speaking at a press conference today, Jagdeo said that although the report validates several critical points long maintained by the PPP/C, it also contains notable flaws.

Closure of WIN candidates’ accounts
One major point of contention, Jagdeo noted, is the Carter Center’s commentary on the actions of local banks regarding US sanctions. The report expressed concern that banks in Guyana might be over-complying with US sanctions by closing the personal accounts of approximately 40 We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) candidates, party members, and associates.

Jagdeo criticised the Carter Center for appearing to instruct local banks on how to operate in this sensitive area, pointing out that even the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has not provided clear guidance on whether transactions involving associates of sanctioned individuals place banks at risk.
“Even OFAC has not done that… I find that very strange,” Jagdeo said. “When a local bank operates here in Guyana, they will safeguard themselves. They will not; they don’t care about what the Carter Center says. Tell them, ‘Oh, don’t de-risk’, but the US banks are busy de-risking. Every US bank is doing this, but the locals must not do that. If they lose their correspondent relationship, the Carter Center can’t help.”
In a previous press conference earlier this month, Jagdeo had explained that the banks’ move to close accounts was part of efforts to safeguard themselves, noting that all financial institutions will be forced to de-risk their services to protect relations with US banking facilities.
Similar sentiments were subsequently echoed by the Guyana Association of Bankers Inc. (GABI), who defended the decision by local financial institutions to sever ties with several We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) party candidates, emphasising that the move is critical to safeguarding the country’s financial system.
In an official statement issued, the association reaffirmed its commitment to maintaining robust compliance systems that protect against illicit financial flows, noting that banks must operate within risk-based frameworks and adhere to international sanctions regimes.

Voter inducement
Jagdeo also took issue with the Carter Center report’s failure to document what he described as blatant acts of voter inducement. He referenced a widely circulated video of WIN’s presidential candidate, US-sanctioned businessman Azruddin Mohamed, handing money to a citizen – an incident that prompted the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to issue a public warning that vote-buying is illegal.
“They missed the biggest one with Azruddin Mohamed handing out money, which prompted GECOM to issue a statement saying that it’s illegal to buy votes or to be paid for your vote…which also prompted APNU to call for a ban of cell phones in polling places. How could they miss that big one?”
He also referenced an incident involving WIN supporter Bradley “Doggie” Sampson at the Square of the Revolution, which he felt deserved mention in the report.
The incident Jagdeo recalled was displayed on social media and received widespread criticism after a woman visited the East La Penitence Police Station and reported that she was beaten and assaulted by Bradley Sampson, also known as “Doggie” – a supporter of the We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) political party.
The woman told the police that she was employed by Sampson, a key organiser in the political party, for Nomination Day progression, and in return, she would get paid $50,000.
The police said the woman further claimed that she went to the Square of the Revolution, also known as Cuffy Square, Georgetown, to uplift the payment from Sampson. However, he only paid her $10,000.
This consequently led to an argument during which Sampson allegedly dealt her several kicks and punches about her body and lashed her with a gun to her head, causing her to receive multiple injuries.
The police had stated that the woman said she was offered $500,000 to drop the matter.

State funds
The PPP/C General Secretary further criticised the report’s suggestion that the governing party is improperly using state resources in its campaign. He defended the use of official vehicles by President Irfaan Ali and Prime Minister Mark Phillips, pointing out that both remain in office and are entitled to such use.
Jagdeo drew a contrast between the current scrutiny and the Carter Center’s silence in 2020, when the former APNU/AFC government reportedly spent billions in public funds after falling to a no-confidence vote and continued to use state resources for months after losing the election.
These developments are strange, he said, “but no big deal.”
Jagdeo reiterated that the PPP/C will continue to campaign based on its record and promises. “We make no apology for that. We campaign on keeping our promises,” he asserted.
However, he also expressed satisfaction with two major findings in the report: that the voters list is not bloated and that political parties are campaigning freely and peacefully.
“I’m extremely pleased with those findings because they’re crucial to the conduct of elections,” Jagdeo said.
He emphasised that claims by APNU regarding a bloated list have long lacked merit.
“This has been APNU’s battle cry for years… that people who should not be on the list are on the list. They provided absolutely no evidence for it, and they continue until today; I saw it to make that claim,” he reasoned, adding that “the Carter Center examined all the evidence, and they found no evidence of a bloated list.”