WASHINGTON, CMC – Assistant Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), Ambassador Albert R. Ramdin, is due in Guyana Wednesday to continue preparations for electoral observation activities in advance of the country’s upcoming general and regional elections.
During the three-day visit, Ramdin will meet with the President Bharrat Jagdeo, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Samuel Rudolph Insanally, as well as with officials of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).
The OAS delegation will also meet with representatives of political parties, local electoral observer groups, the private sector and the international community, in order to assess the current situation and lay the groundwork for the arrival of OAS electoral observers.
“We look forward to the voting taking place in a peaceful environment, and we hope that everything is in place for the proper conduct of the elections on August 28th,” Ramdin said prior to his fourth visit to Georgetown this year.
He told the OAS Permanent Council on Tuesday that the OAS has had a two-member advance team on the ground since May and plans to send additional experts to Guyana by the middle of this month.
During the days leading to the august 28 polls, the OAS Electoral Observation Mission will field some 60 election observers throughout the country.
The OAS is observing the process at the invitation of the government of Guyana.
Guyana’s Ambassador to the OAS, Bayney Karran, said the role of observer missions is “vital” to the electoral process.