…says OAS Observer Mission
THE Electoral Observer Mission of the Organisation of American States (OAS), said yesterday that free elections were in progress in Guyana as citizens turned out to elect a new government.

This was expressed by Chief of Mission, Professor Gordon Shirley, while briefing the media yesterday, two hours before the close of poll.
“We think things have gone well and we think free elections are in progress,” Professor Shirley said in response to a question on free and fair elections in Guyana.
“We’ve been able to see the turnout that they had…and so far it’s safe to say that everything seems to have been going very well. The turnout is quite large and it has been a peaceful process.”
He is forecasting that Guyana could record its highest voter turnout this year.
According to him, more than half of the electorate had voted as of 13:00 hrs yesterday.
Professor Shirley reported that in a ‘few instances’ there was ‘a little bit of confusion’, as some persons were unable to find their names on the list.
He stated that there was also one late opening of a polling station located away from the city, because the necessary materials had not been  transported on time. However, by 7:30 hrs, when the OAS got there, the process had started.
But generally, observations coming out of the OAS team were positive.
“The spirit by which the voters have turned out to vote is really impressive; they have waited in an orderly fashion; and as soon as the poll was open, they were processed and they went along their way,” Professor Shirley related.
The OAS Mission fielded about 25 observers and visited polling places in nine out of the 10 districts.
Meanwhile, the CARICOM Observer Mission is echoing similar sentiments, with team leader Hensley Robinson saying that he was pleased with the reports he had gotten so far.
He stated that there were a few cases in which persons could not find their names on the list on the Official List of Electors; but according to Robinson, “it was not widespread.”
As such, he is urging citizens not be startled by this, since in any election such matters occur.
He said the CARICOM Observer Mission had been in contact with polling stations throughout the day to get an idea of their challenges.
While he could not give a definitive figure, Robinson informed reporters that the mission had visited several polling stations around the country.