Chief of the Organization of American States (OAS) Observer Mission to Guyana, Bruce Golding, reported that his teams have already visited 342 polling stations across the country since the morning, covering seven of the ten electoral regions.
Golding said the mission will continue visiting more locations throughout the day. “Our observations are that, by and large, things have been moving smoothly,” he stated.
He noted that all polling stations observed opened promptly, except for one that was delayed due to a missing screen for the polling compartment. “That was quickly corrected, and they got the polling station going,” Golding explained.
According to him, all required polling officials — including presiding officers, assistant presiding officers, poll clerks, and ballot clerks — were present, and all necessary materials were in place.
Golding highlighted his personal involvement, saying, “I myself visited 62 of those 342 polling stations since morning, and I was particularly impressed at how professional, how well trained the polling officials appeared to be.” He added that officials “knew what they were doing” and were not hesitant in applying rules and guidelines.
He described the process as orderly but pointed to a minor issue observed with the setup of polling compartments. “In some polling stations, the screen was fixed in such a way that it faced the wall so that you couldn’t see from outside how a voter voted. In some of the polling stations, we noticed that it was the opposite where it was turned around,” he said.
Golding explained that the reversed setup was linked to an effort to prevent voters from photographing their ballots, allowing officials and party agents to detect whether smartphones were being misused.
Despite the variation, he said that polling overall has been proceeding without disruption.
