ELECTION REPORT ✩ 2015 General and Regional Elections in Guyana Final Report ELECTION REPORT ✩ 2015 General and Regional Elections in Guyana Final Report One Copenhill 453 Freedom Parkway Atlanta, GA 30307 (404) 420-5100 www.cartercenter.org Source: United States Central Intelligence Agency. Guyana. [Washington, D.C.: Central Intelligence Agency, 1991] Map. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2005631591/. (Accessed February 17, 2017.) Contents Foreword.....................................4 Election Day .................................43 Executive Summary...........................5 Opening ..................................44 Recommendations .........................7 Polling ...................................44 The Carter Center in Guyana .................10 Postelection Period ..........................46 Timeline ..................................10 Vote Counting and Tabulation. .46 Election Observation Methodology...........13 Poll Closing and Counting. .46 Historical and Political Background...........16 Recounts .................................49 Parties Contesting the 2015 Elections ........17 Election Results. .50 Electoral Institutions and the Framework Electoral Dispute Resolution ................51 for the Legislative Elections ..................20 Postelection Environment and Observations ..53 Legal Framework ..........................20 Conclusions and Recommendations ..........56 Electoral Law. .21 To the Parliament of Guyana ................56 Candidacy and Campaigning ...............23 To the Government of Guyana ..............58 Campaign Finance .........................24 To the Guyana Elections Commission ........58 The Right to Vote ..........................25 Appendices..................................60 Electoral System and Boundary Delimitation ..28 Appendix A: Acknowledgments .............60 Election Management ......................29 Appendix B: The Carter Center Pre-election Period ..........................31 Delegation and Staff .......................62 Voter Registration .........................31 Appendix C: Terms and Abbreviations .......64 Voter Education ...........................33 Appendix D: Statements ....................65 Advance Polls .............................34 Appendix E: Table of Recommendations Candidates, Parties, and Campaigns .........34 From Previous Missions .................. 105 The Media. .37 Appendix F: Deployment Plan ............ 109 Appendix G: Statement by Former President Civil Society/Citizen Observers . .38 Donald Ramotar on May 16 .............. 110 Electoral Dispute Resolution . .40 Appendix H: Letters of Invitation .......... 112 Electoral Offenses .........................41 Appendix I: Checklists .................... 119 Election-Related Violence During the Appendix J: Report by Former U.S. President Pre-election Period ........................42 Jimmy Carter on Trip to Guyana ........... 140 Security ..................................42 Foreword The 2015 general and regional elections in to Guyana’s winner-take-all governance system, Guyana were early elections, called by the the Center reduced its role in Guyana in 2004. president following three years of contentious However, in light of the suspension of Parliament governance after the 2011 polls. In the 2011 elec- and the anticipated close electoral contest, we tions, the incumbent People’s Progressive Party/ responded positively to the government’s invita- Civic (PPP/C) received the most votes of any tion to observe the elections of May 11, 2015. The party but received one seat less in the Parliament 2015 elections represented a milestone for The than the two opposition parties together, resulting Carter Center. These were the 100th elections in a minority government under the PPP/C. observed by The Carter Center. That our 100th Despite hope that this unprecedented split of election would take place in Guyana, a country power between the executive and legislative with which the Center has had a special relation- branches would foster compromise, the govern- ship, seemed appropriate. ment and opposition failed to find many areas of Our fourth observation mission to Guyana constructive engagement. reflected our ongoing interest in the country’s In 2014, the stalemate came to a head when democratic consolidation and our desire for her the opposition presented legislation for a no- people to live together in peace and security. With confidence vote in the government, in response this in mind, we maintain our previous recom- to which the president suspended Parliament, mendations that additional reforms to Guyana’s pushing the country into a crisis of governance. election laws and constitution are necessary to The president announced new elections in January achieve more inclusivity and accountability in 2015 with the intention of securing a renewed Guyana’s system of governance. mandate and a clear majority. The opposition was I also believe that Guyana’s leaders must an unprecedented alliance between A Partnership encourage healing and reconciliation among their for National Unity (a coalition of multiple people and lead by example. The victorious coali- organizations and parties) and the Alliance tion committed to these ideals in their campaign, for Change party, which joined together in an and I hope that all Guyanese will work together to attempt to unseat the 23-year incumbent. realize these goals and help develop their country’s The Carter Center has monitored three vast potential. previous elections in Guyana in 1992, 2001, and 2006 and engaged heavily in the country’s democratic consolidation and development following the transitional elections of 1992. Concerned about lack of progress by the political Jimmy Carter elite to foster compromise and find an alternative 39th President of the United States of America 4 Executive Summary The 2011 elections in Guyana resulted in the acute anxiety and suspicion within the populace. ruling party winning the presidency but narrowly Ethnic mobilization played a major role in the losing a majority of seats in Parliament. The campaign, although moderated somewhat by years that followed were characterized by political the opposition coalition’s built-in need to reach gridlock and failures of governance, and they across traditional ethnic lines. The PPP/C filed an culminated in a motion of “no confidence” against election petition challenging the validity of the President Ramotar (tabled by opposition parties results that is still pending at the time of writing in August 2014), the proroguing of Parliament in of this report1 and refused participation in the November 2014, the dissolution of Parliament in first sittings of the National Assembly. Overall, February 2015, and a call for elections. while these elections represent a step forward in Guyana’s May 15, 2015, general and regional Guyana’s democratic development, there is much elections marked the country’s second democratic work to be done to ensure governance is inclusive transfer of power from one party to another and elections become more routine and less trau- in the Anglophone Caribbean nation’s post- matic to the nation. independence history. The 2015 polls also marked several other significant milestones for the nation, including a turnout of 72 percent when Overall, while these elections represent a step more Guyanese voted than in any other election in the country’s history. Although Guyana has forward in Guyana’s democratic development, there previously experienced close elections, 2015 was the closest election to date, with a coalition of is much work to be done to ensure governance is A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and inclusive and elections become more routine and Alliance for Change (AFC) receiving 50.3 percent of the 412,012 valid votes cast compared to the less traumatic to the nation. PPP/C’s 49.2 percent. Only 4,506 votes separated the winner from the loser. This election also saw the first coalition slate win a national election, The Carter Center team in Guyana was led perhaps harboring a future of coalition politics by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, Dame in a country that has struggled with the zero-sum Audrey Glover of the United Kingdom, and nature of its winner-take-all system. Dame Billie Miller of Barbados. Six medium- Despite these distinctions, the 2015 elections term observers from six countries were deployed repeated many familiar patterns of the past. Election results, both preliminary and final, took longer to be released than anticipated, fueling 1 This report was finalized in July 2016. 5 Carter Center observers and staff on this mission had the privilege The Carter Center of working on the Center’s 100th election observation. throughout the country in advance of election day allegations of provocative confrontations between to assess election preparations. On election day, ruling party and opposition supporters swirled 53 observers from 26 countries visited 297 polling throughout election day. On closer inspection by stations (or 13 percent of total stations) in all 10 international observers, most issues, with a few regions to observe voting, counting, tabulation, exceptions, turned out to be largely unfounded and the declaration of results. The Carter Center or easily explained. Despite such attempts to sow remained in Guyana to observe the postelection discord, Guyanese generally remained calm and environment. cast their ballots without incidents or problems. On election day, Guyanese citizens turned out At 98 percent