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Election Posters in Guyana

Billboards displaying election posters for the 2006 General and Regional Elections in Guyana.

Former Fijian Deputy Prime Minister Leads Commonwealth Observers

24 August 2006

Ratu Epeli Nailatikau, former Deputy Prime Minister and former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Fiji Islands, leads Commonwealth Observer Group in Guyana.

Ratu Epeli Nailatikau, former Deputy Prime Minister and former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Fiji Islands, is leading a Commonwealth Observer Group now in Guyana for the 28 August 2006 General and Regional Elections.

The Group, established by Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon, consists of 11 eminent Commonwealth citizens, supported by seven Commonwealth Secretariat staff.

The other Observers are: Martinho Chachiua, Manager, Elections and Political Processes, Electoral Institute of Southern Africa, Mozambique; Tony Colman, former Member of Parliament, United Kingdom; Dayananda Dissanayake, Commissioner of Elections, Sri Lanka; Mersada Elcock, former Chief Electoral Officer, Barbados; Dr 'Atu Emberson-Bain, Vice-President of the Fiji Labour Party and former Senator, Fiji Islands; Beata Kasale, Publisher, 'The Voice' newspaper, Botswana; Harry Mayers, Business Editor, 'The Nation' newspaper, Barbados; Senator Ike Nwachukwu, former Foreign Minister, Nigeria; Andrew Trawen, Electoral Commissioner, Papua New Guinea; and Alberto Vellos, Member, Commonwealth Regional Youth Caucus, Belize.

The Staff Support Team is being led by Juliet Solomon, Special Adviser in the Political Affairs Division of the Secretariat.

Ms Elcock and Ms Kasale have been present in Guyana as an advance team since 4 August. The Observers have been invited in their individual capacities and the views they express regarding the elections will be their own and not those either of their respective governments or of the Secretariat.

In an Arrival Statement issued on 23 August 2006, Ratu Nailatikau said: "We will travel extensively, consult widely and take every opportunity to see the process for ourselves. We look forward to meeting as many people as possible. We will co-operate closely with other international and domestic election observers to ensure that we maximise our coverage.

"We will be neutral, impartial, objective and independent. We cannot visit every polling station or be present everywhere. But we can and will attempt to take a representative sample of the process, so that we can arrive at a broad overview."

At the end of the Observers' work in Guyana the Group will submit its report to the Commonwealth Secretary-General. He will then transmit it to the Government of Guyana, the Guyana Elections Commission and the political parties taking part in the elections. The Secretary-General will thereafter circulate copies to all Commonwealth governments, following which the report will be made public.

To view the full Arrival Statement, please visit http://www.thecommonwealth.org/document/153675/general_and_regional_elections_in_guyana_arrival_s.htm

 

CNIS - Commonwealth News and Information Service Issue 299, 23 August 2006

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