Co-leaders of the Carter Center Observer Mission in Guyana, Jason Carter, and former Senegalese Prime Minister, Aminata Touré, today, provided an initial assessment of the voting process for the General and Regional Elections. Polls have since been closed.
The former Senegalese Prime Minister along with Carter, grandson of former US President Jimmy Carter, provided an update for members of the media while at the Campbellville Secondary School, Georgetown, where it was reported that the team observed a noticeably large turnout at many of the Polling Stations they visited.
This year’s mission is the fifth to be fielded to Guyana since the 1992 General and Regional Elections.
It was pointed out that the mission fielded a team of more than 40 individuals, spread across each of the 10 administrative regions in Guyana – some in Guyana for some months now.
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.”
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”.
With more than 40 individuals scattered across the country, she reported that the teams commenced today’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].”
