Campaign financing law will help foil use of State resources – CARICOM Observer Mission

Sep 03, 2025 News

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Kaieteur News – Chief of Mission of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Election Observer Mission (CEOM), Josephine Tamai has noted the need for model legislation in the region to help prohibit the use of State resources by governments to campaign for elections.

Speaking at a press conference at the CARICOM Headquarters at Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown on Tuesday, Tamai said political will is needed to introduce such legislation in the Caribbean.

“If you look at some countries, for example, Jamaica that has moved in that direction, there is a much more level playing field for running political campaigns there,” she said.

According to Tamai, there were complaints of the use of State resources for the elections campaign in Guyana. “We were told that persons were using helicopters and other things to campaign, right, but like I said, once we get those documentations, then we’ll be able to report on that more.”

She said there should be a cut-off point when an election is called, that persons who are still involved in running the country don’t have access to these resources, because they actually belong to the people of the country.

Based on a line of questions by journalists, the chief of mission noted inter alia that there will be recommendations on how the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) could actually clean the voters’ list.

“We received reports that there is an issue of dead persons on the list… to address this we would recommend that there be a re-registration process, and the creation of entirely new list.”

Outside of its recommendations, the chief of mission said lauded GECOM and the people of Guyana for the elections that were conducted peacefully. According to her, the CARICOM mission observed the electoral process in Regions Three, Four, Five, Six and 10. Tamai noted that based on the mission’s preliminary findings, the elections were smoothly conducted in a peaceful environment.

“A total of 324 polling stations were visited… The CEOM is of the view that on elections day, voters were able to exercise their franchise in a peaceful and orderly manner without significant incident. The team observed no signs of intimidation, harassment or campaigning, intended to influence or obstruct the democratic process,” she said.

The CARICOM Observer Mission said at the opening of the polls, there was adequate police presence, and were adequately staffed and professionally manned.

“The process was smooth with the exception of one polling station, which opened at 6:40am due to the late delivery of the voting compartment, all other polling stations observed opened on time…While voter turn-out appeared slow for a significant portion of the day, polling staff remained focused on their duties, ensuring that all eligible voters, who presented themselves, were able to cast their ballots,” the chief of mission said.

“The CEOM also observed that some polling stations were not located on the ground floor. This presented a challenge for elderly and disabled voters, which are an important consideration for future planning,” Tamai said.

She urged all Guyanese to remain calm, peaceful and patient while awaiting the official results of the general and regional elections.

“…The relevant authorities must be allowed the space to carry out their duties cordially and transparently. Now more than ever, Guyanese must stand together and put country first. Remember that the strength of the nation lies in unity, resilience to the democratic process.

She noted that the team will wrap up its mission today, and depart Guyana. A comprehensive report on the country’s elections will be submitted to the CARICOM secretariat soon after.

Meanwhile in a statement, the Guyana Bar Association’s local observer group expressed appreciation to the GECOM staff who discharged their duties on election day with professionalism and competence, to ensure free and fair elections across Guyana.

The local group observed preparation, opening of polls, voting, close of polls and counting at over 500 polling stations at over 105 polling places in Essequibo, Demerara and Berbice throughout the day.

As GECOM commences the process leading to the declaration of results, the observer group urges patience in permitting GECOM to complete its work to deliver accurate results.

“We would like to remind members of the public that GECOM is the only body with the lawful authority to declare the results of the General and Regional Elections held on 1st September, 2025,” the group said.

It added that while the process, including our observation status, is not yet complete since results have not yet been declared, the preliminary reports received at the current time from its observation team are that the voting process on election day was generally peaceful and that general and regional elections were observed to be free, fair and transparent.

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• CARICOM, financing law, Mission, Observer, state resources

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