-highlights improvements in tabulation process, urges more electoral reforms
THE Carter Center has said that Guyana’s September 2025 election-day procedures were found to be ‘calm, orderly, and well administered.’
In its final report, the observer mission noted too that there were no significant irregularities reported and pointed to the revised tabulation process being more transparent and verifiable than in 2020, contributing to greater confidence in the announced results.
“Legal and electoral reforms adopted in 2022—particularly to improve voter registration and tabulation transparency—addressed some international recommendations,” the report said.
However, the Carter Center noted that despite improvements, significant challenges remain. It highlighted concerns surrounding the Guyana Election Commission’s (GECOM)’s independence, the complexity and representativeness of the electoral system, and outdated constituency boundaries, among other issues.
“Guyana’s rapid economic transformation presents both opportunity and risk, underscoring the need for inclusive constitutional and electoral reforms to strengthen democratic institutions ahead of future elections,” the report added.
The Carter Center also acknowledged and welcomed the establishment of the Constitutional Reform Commission (CRC) in 2024.
It urged Guyanese officials to ensure that the commission is fully supported in undertaking its mandate.
Offering more recommendations, the Carter Center urged the CRC to develop and implement a nationwide review process that integrates civic education and participatory dialogue, enabling Guyanese from all regions and communities to contribute to discussions on constitutional priorities and potential reforms.
“It is critically important that constitutional amendments are finalised with sufficient time to allow for subsequent adjustments to the electoral legal framework and to ensure that new provisions can be effectively implemented before the next general and regional elections.”
The report further stressed that constitutional reform effort must be grounded in transparency, broad political participation, and meaningful engagement with the public.
TABULATION – SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS
According to the report, the Carter Center observers found that the tabulation process in 2025 was conducted in ‘a reasonable or very good manner ‘across all 17 of the tabulation centres.
Notable was the increased transparency through the public posting of Statements of Poll (SoPs) and the timely uploading of these to GECOM’s website.
“While new procedures—particularly the requirement to upload all SoPs before tabulation—caused delays, the system functioned efficiently with few technical issues and allowed close public and observer scrutiny,” the report said.
The report added that the post-2020 reforms contributed to a more efficient and transparent tabulation process and was marked by a significant improvement over the 2020 electoral process, strengthening confidence in the official electoral results.
“Overall, the legislative changes made to the tabulation process were positive and contributed to a more efficient and transparent tabulation process that better ensures that the announced results reflect the will of the people as expressed on election day,” the report said, while highlighting the transparent recount procedures.
“The 2025 elections built positively on recommendations from past elections, but more needs to be done to enhance Guyana’s democracy, ensure its representativeness, and increase its ability to serve all its people.”
In 2022, Guyana had amended the legal and electoral framework governing general and regional elections.
These reforms according to the Carter Center, addressed several recommendations from international observers, including measures to improve the transparency of the vote-tabulation process and significant changes to voter- registration procedures.
“The 2025 election was the first since the traumatic experiences of 2020, and the nation faced important choices about its future and the use of its newfound economic wealth,” the Carter Center said.
