Jason Carter to lead Carter Center’s elections mission in Guyana

Aug 29, 2025 News

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Kaieteur News – Jason Carter, chairperson of the Carter Center’s Board of Trustees and grandson of the former United States President Jimmy Carter has arrived in Guyana and will lead the Carter Center’s election observation mission for the country’s upcoming general and regional elections.

According to a press release issued on Thursday, the Center’s election observers have already arrived in the country and are undergoing training in preparation for monitoring election day activities, including the tabulation of results and the post-election environment.

As part of his mission, Jason Carter will meet with key stakeholders such as political party candidates, civil society organizations, government officials, and other international observer groups. He is returning to Guyana after previously co-leading the Carter Center’s 2020 election observation mission.

He stated, “This is an important moment for Guyana’s democracy. The Carter Center encourages every eligible voter to make their voice heard and is hopeful that the electoral process will be a fully transparent one that reflects the will of the people.”

The Carter Center’s core team of electoral experts arrived in late June and released a preliminary statement on August 19, summarizing key observations from the pre-election period. Following the elections, the Center said it will publish reports providing an independent and impartial assessment of the entire electoral process.

The Center reiterated that it was invited by the Government of Guyana to observe this year’s elections. “It has a longstanding commitment to Guyana and has worked in the country since 1991 to strengthen democracy, support civil society, encourage sustainable development, and reinforce the rule of law. The Carter Center is a recognized leader in the international election observation community and has conducted more than 125 election observation missions globally, including in Guyana in 1992, 2001, 2006, 2015, and 2020,” the mission said.

Last week, the Carter Center released its pre-election report, one which Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo has strongly criticised and labelled as “a bunch of nonsense.”

At a press conference last week, Jagdeo sought to downplay the critical aspects of the report, particularly allegations concerning the government’s misuse of state resources for campaigning, as well as the actions of local banks that severed ties with several candidates of the We Invest In Nationhood party led by U.S. sanctioned businessman Azruddin Mohamed. The banks have claimed that they are barred from conducting business with persons affiliated with Mohamed based on the sanctions imposed by U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

The Carter Center’s report, noted that local commercial banks may be overcomplying with the U.S. Department of Treasury office.

“The private sector has an important role to play in safeguarding democratic rights and freedoms and, as such, must ensure decisions do not discriminate against individuals for exercising those rights,” the report stated.

Jagdeo described Carter Center’s findings as “strange”. Jagdeo said, “… OFAC made it very explicit, and that’s the United States Treasury Department, which is a financial institution, said: we will not tell the local banks what to do, because each bank operates within a framework. So, I find that very strange.”

Moreover, Jagdeo expressed concerns over other findings by the Carter Center, including that the People’s Progressive Party Civic’s (PPP/C) alleged misuse of state resources including the State media in its ongoing campaign to conjure up support for Guyana’s elections.

In its report, the Center said it has received multiple allegations from political parties and civil society that the ruling party has misused State resources. In relation to the use of State vehicles, Jagdeo argued that Irfaan Ali is still the president. He exclaimed, “So, you expect the president not to go with his vehicle, it’s a bunch of nonsense…”

The vice president also dismissed the Center’s findings of abuse of media. He said, “What I find strange is that the press association got into the report, almost conveniently that somebody is harassing them, government officials are harassing them, intimidating them when they go out…”

Notwithstanding, Jagdeo welcomed other aspects of the Carter Center’s findings. He praised the Center’s conclusion that there is no evidence of a bloated Official List of Electors (OLE), a claim long made by the opposition party, APNU. “The Carter Center examined all the evidence, and they found no evidence of a bloated list,” Jagdeo stated, calling it a vindication of the PPP’s position.

He also expressed satisfaction with the Center’s observation that the 2025 election campaign has so far been peaceful and inclusive, with all political parties able to campaign freely across the country. “So, I’m extremely pleased with those findings, because they’re crucial to the conduct of elections, whether you have a bloated list or people can’t campaign freely or in a peaceful manner,” he added.

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• Carter Center, election observation, Guyana Elections, Jason Carter, Jimmy Carter

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