OAS Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza said in a statement yesterday that the electoral process is being closely monitored and he expressed satisfaction with the steps taken to ensure transparent elections on Monday. Insulza said the decision to designate Ambassador Ramdin as the chief of the OAS mission indicated the high level of interest of the member states. "These elections represent a critical step in the country's political and democratic development and we believe the OAS can play an important role as an impartial observer," he explained. "Ambassador Ramdin has made several visits to Guyana in recent months and has been in permanent contact with the country's political leaders, electoral authorities and others involved in the process," he added. Insulza described the observer mission as the most extensive it has fielded in Guyana.

The OAS mission comprises three quarters of the international observers. Half of the mission will be made up of trained volunteers from locally-based diplomatic missions, including the US Embassy, USAID, IDB, DFID, the British High Commission, the Canadian High Commission and the European Union. The other members of the team have been arriving this week from various countries in the hemisphere.

Ambassador Ramdin arrived in Guyana on Tuesday and has met with representatives of the other missions as well as domestic observer groups. Today and tomorrow he will participate in training sessions for international and national observers. He has also had discussions with the authorities responsible for election planning and security, including officials from the Guyana Elections Commis-sion (GECOM), Minister of Home Affairs Gail Teixeira, Acting Police Commissioner Henry Greene and head of the army Brigadier General Edward Collins.

Source: Stabroek News