General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo on Thursday said the Carter Center’s first pre-election report for Guyana’s September 1 polls confirmed what the government has been saying all along – that the voters’ list is not “bloated” and that the campaign has so far been peaceful.
But while welcoming the findings, Jagdeo expressed concern that the report left out major issues, including widely reported incidents of alleged vote-buying and violence linked to opposition parties.
“I gave an initial comment on Tuesday, and I don’t have much more to say. The report confirms what we have been saying all along – the list is not padded,” Jagdeo told reporters during his weekly press conference at Freedom House.
“This has been APNU’s battle cry all along, saying people who should not be on the list are there. They provided no evidence, and even today, they continue to make that claim. The Carter Center examined all the evidence and found none,” he added.
Jagdeo also welcomed the mission’s finding that campaigning has been conducted in a free and peaceful manner. “People are campaigning openly and getting their message out, and I am pleased with that finding,” he said.
Still, Jagdeo said he was troubled that some of the most serious issues in the campaign were not reflected in the Carter Center’s assessment.
“They reported on allegations made by the opposition, and that’s fair, but they didn’t cover all the allegations. They missed the biggest one—Azruddin handing out money. That prompted GECOM to remind parties that vote-buying is illegal and even prompted APNU to call for a ban on cell phones in polling places. How could they miss that?” he asked.
He also cited the highly publicised “Doggie” Sampson assault incident and other reports of violence and intimidation, which he said should have been included.
Another area of contention for Jagdeo was the Carter Center’s comments on U.S. sanctions against WIN party presidential candidate Azruddin Mohamed and associated entities. The report suggested banks should avoid “de-risking” their accounts.
Jagdeo said this was “strange” for an observer group to recommend.
On the report’s mention of state resources, Jagdeo pushed back at suggestions that the government was misusing its position. He argued that the real abuse occurred in 2020 when the then APNU-led administration spent $419 billion outside of parliamentary approval around the elections and signed large contracts even after election day.
And on government project launches during the campaign, Jagdeo said he makes “no apology.”
“I’m proud of these inaugurations. They show we are delivering on promises.”
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