Georgetown, Guyana – September 1, 2025 – Leader of the Carter Center’s election observation mission, Jason Carter, says Guyana’s 2025 General and Regional Elections began smoothly on Monday morning, with no serious issues reported in the early hours of voting.
Speaking to reporters shortly after polls opened, Carter stressed the importance of relying on verified evidence rather than rumors. “One of the things that’s very important for all of us is that we want to make sure we are drawing conclusions based on evidence and not based on rumors,” he said. “So far so good. It’s 8:00 or 8:30 in the morning, but we expect that today will be a smooth process.”Geor
Carter, grandson of the late U.S. President Jimmy Carter, confirmed that the Center has deployed about 40 observers across the country. Working alongside other international missions, the observers will cover every region and all tabulation centers. “Our observers are going to be moving around throughout the day in each of the regions so that we’ll have good coverage throughout the country,” he explained, adding that teams are prepared to investigate any reports or irregularities that arise.
Asked about pre-election concerns raised in the Carter Center’s August 19 report regarding the tabulation process, Carter noted that the mission was reassured after discussions with Chief Elections Officer Vishnu Persaud. “At the end of the day, the law is the law. The legal framework is provided by this country itself. We’ve had a great relationship with GECOM. They’ve been open to us, and they have listened in a variety of contexts to the issues that we’ve identified,” he said.
Carter added that all political parties and GECOM staff are aware of the rules governing tabulation, and that he has “no reason to think it’s not going to be” a fair and transparent process.
The Carter Center is one of several international observer groups monitoring the elections. It has a long history in Guyana, including observation missions in 1992, 2001, 2006, 2015, and 2020.
