President Ali welcomes EU’s final election report

–rejects unfounded claims on incumbency and level playing field

President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali welcomed the European Union’s Observer Mission Final Report (EU EOM) on the country’s 2025 General and Regional Elections which concluded that the elections were free, peaceful, well-run, and professionally administered.

He bemoaned the fact that despite this outcome, the report also included references to an ‘uneven playing field’ and ‘undue advantage of incumbency.’

President Ali dismissed these assertions outright, stating that they are ridiculous and not supported by facts.

“It is based primarily on complaints by political participants in the elections and their affiliates. We made it very clear that in any system, there are advantages and disadvantages to incumbency, ” President Ali said.

He said that if an incumbent government did not perform credibly on its promises in its manifesto and poorly on the economy, then they would not perform well at the polls.

“There are negatives and positives with incumbency. The People’s Progressive Party Civic delivered on all of its commitments”, President Ali stated before making the point that, “The government has a responsibility to highlight and celebrate its delivering and results”.

He maintained that the PPP Government had delivered to the people just what it promised in 2020.

“We delivered…we had [to open] schools, hospitals, health centres, roads, cash transfers…that is not an incumbency, it is a commitment made in the government’s manifesto that the incumbency would have delivered on,” he said.

President Ali called the claims ‘unsubstantiated and inconsistent’ with the EU’s own observations on transparency and integrity.

Meanwhile, the EU EOM Final Report noted that Election Day was “peaceful and calm,” with efficient management of voting, counting and tabulation.

The Mission also highlighted historic improvements such as the real-time online publication of Statements of Poll (SoPs) immediately upon receipt by Returning Officers, a measure implemented for the first time in Guyana’s election history.

“Guyana delivered a peaceful, transparent and well-run election. Every major stage reflected the will of the people,” the president said.

President Ali emphasised that these improvements demonstrate the government’s steadfast commitment to strengthening democratic systems and restoring trust following the severe challenges experienced during the 2020 electoral crisis.

President Ali acknowledged the EU’s reference to lingering public mistrust, stemming from the events of the 2020 elections that threw the country into a constitutional crisis for five months, ultimately damaging the public image of the electoral body:

“As a result of the scar from 2020, the mistrust, the derailing of systems, the erosion of systems in the 2020 elections, there was mistrust from that era. From what took place by the staff of Gecom, in collusion with political parties,” President Ali said.

He reaffirmed that the Government remains committed to continuous electoral reform and welcomes constructive recommendations that strengthen the process.