EU election observer mission to pronounce on campaign financing, oil revenues after elections

Last Updated on Friday, 1 August 2025, 18:36 by Writer

– emphasises equal access to media, timely tabulation and announcement of results

The 50-member European Union Election Observation Mission (EUEOM) would state its views on issues such as campaign financing and the use of oil revenues as a campaign tool after the elections, Chief Observer Robert Biedron said Friday.

He declined to discuss such matters before the general and regional elections slated for September 1 but said they could feature in the Mission’s report. “Some remarks on the topics you said had been raised, of course, and the concerns have been raised but it’s too early for us to make any comment,” he said in response to questions by Demerara Waves Online News. Mr Biedron said the EUEOM was very careful to abide by the rule of non-interference in domestic politics. He said there are certain regulations for campaign financing that should always meet national, regional and international standards. “We are meeting different stakeholders and the comments will come shortly after elections with our statements,” he said.

Successive governments have to varying degrees over the decades used state resources such as aircraft, government-funded radio, television and information services to campaign. As late as Thursday, the Department of Public Information and the Guyana Chronicle livestreamed the press conference by the General Secretary of the ruling People’s Progressive Party (PPP), Bharrat Jagdeo on their Facebook pages.

The Chief Observer refused to say whether he was satisfied that the systems that are in place were sufficient to deliver credible elections. “We do not interfere in any in this election and making any statement at this time, at this stage would be regarded as an interference so if you will excuse me I will stay impartial,” he said. He said independence of the observer mission was important for Guyanese and the country’s constitutional democracy.

Mr Biedron said the upcoming polls would be an opportunity for all stakeholders to demonstrate Guyana’s commitment to democracy through credible, transparent and inclusive elections. He said that would mean that all eligible voters and candidates from every community could fully exercise their democratic rights. He said that would include access to the media. “All contesting political parties should be free to campaign and to inform voters about their programmes on a level playing field with equal – I underline equal – access to media and public spaces,” he said. He also said voters should be able to cast their ballots in secret, free from pressure, intimidation or any other form of interference. Full transparency and accountability from all electoral stakeholders are necessary, he said, to enhance public trust in the process.

The Chief Election Observer said the EUEOM encourages a “transparent and timely tabulation and announcement of results”. The results of the March 2020 general and regional elections were not known until August after a total vote recount due to inaccurate tabulation of results from spreadsheets instead of the statements of poll in favour of the then incumbent A Partnership for National Unity+Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC).

While the EUEOM would be observing the polls across Guyana, Mr Biedron could not say what the criteria would be to determine which of the more than 2,000 polling stations would be visited by members of his mission. At the same time, he said “the plan is to deploy our observers in every region, trying to reach communities, voters to observe where ever they vote in Guyana”. He said on polling day, the mission would observe opening of polling stations, counting of votes, tabulation of results and handling of any complaint or appeals.

The EUEOM is scheduled to publish a statement of preliminary findings on September 3 ahead of a full report, including recommendations, to be published the latest by December 2025.

He said the mission would not only focus on election day but on the “entire electoral process” including pre-election environment, campaign, tabulation of results and the resolution of any election-related complaint. “Our role is to observe the entire electoral process and assess whether it complies with the laws of Guyana as well as the country’s international and regional commitment to democratic elections,” said Mr Biedron, a member of the European parliament.

He said an eight-member team of electoral experts arrived in Guyana on July 23 to cover areas such as electoral, legal, political, media and social media analysis. They would be joined by a full team of long-term observers across all ten of Guyana’s administrative regions to watch electoral preparations, campaigning and the broader political environment and report back to the “core team” in Guyana’s capital, Georgetown. “Their observations will contribute to the mission’s impartial and informed assessment of the electoral process,” he added. Shortly before election day, the Chief Observer said the mission would be joined by an additional 20 short-term observers to observe voting and the tabulation of results.

He described the 50 observers as a “well-oiled machine of high quality experts” who are expected to abide by a strict code of conduct in line with the Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation that was endorsed by the United Nations. He said they “do not interfere in the electoral processes” at any stage, but in the run-up to election day, the mission would analyse the legal framework, voter and candidate registration processes, campaign environment, election preparation and the role of civil society.

Five parties – APNU, People’s Progressive Party, We Invest in Nationhood, AFC, Forward Guyana Movement and Assembly for Liberty and Prosperity – would be vying for the presidency, control of the 65-seat National Assembly and the ten regional councils.

The EUEOM plans to interface with other observer missions from the Carter Center, Organisation of American States and possibly the Commonwealth but will make its own assessments and issue its own reports, he said.