Election day proceeded smoothly. The Center’s observers sent back mostly positive reports from all 10 of the country’s regions. But tallying went astray in Region 4 – which is the largest region and includes the capital of Georgetown – when, after only half the results for the region had been tabulated in the presence of observers, the returning officer responsible for the tallying abruptly announced the rest of results, which indicated that the ruling party had come from behind to win the election.
The Carter Center and other international observer missions denounced the declaration of unverified results, saying they lacked credibility, and called for a return to the verification process. The opposition party filed a lawsuit, and Guyana’s chief justice ordered a return to the previous tallying process. But the restarted process didn’t meet the standards set by the court, according to Carter Center observers and others.