Former US president to head observer team to Guyana polls

GEORGETOWN, Guyana (CMC) – Former United States president Jimmy Carter will lead an observer mission to monitor the May 11 regional and national elections in Guyana.

“I look forward to leading our delegation to observe Guyana’s elections on May 11,” Carter said.

“The Carter Centre has a long history in Guyana and great respect for the Guyanese people. These will be the fourth elections we have observed there since 1992, and we trust they will be peaceful and inspire hope for the future.”

The Carter Centre is joining the Organisation of American States (OAS) that has been inviting to monitor the polls by the Guyana Government.

The Carter Centre in a statement said that the core team of experts will be joined this week by six medium-term observers, together representing nine countries.

The Centre’s observers will meet regularly with representatives of the Guyana Elections Commission, political party candidates, civil society organisations, the international community, and citizen election observers to assess electoral preparations and the pre-electoral environment, including election administration, campaigning, voter education, and other issues.

They will be joined by a larger delegation of election observers in May, led by Carter, who will assess the voting, counting, and tabulation processes.

The election here is seen as a straight fight between the ruling People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) which is seeking to extend its more than two decades hold on power and the coalition alliance comprising the main opposition A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the small Alliance for Change (AFC).