Iโve reviewed The Carter Centerโs pre-election observation report. Much of the media coverage to date has emphasized the negatives and under-reported the positives that were documented. For the sake of balance, here are the key positives alongside the observably glaring omissions.
๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ซ๐๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ ๐ฉ๐จ๐ฌ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ง๐จ๐ญ๐๐ฌ:
โข Modernized legal framework (2022 reforms). Clear steps to improve transparency: sub-district tabulation in Regions 3, 4, and 6; immediate online publication of Statements of Poll and tabulation forms; and stronger rights for party agents to observe every stage.
โข Continuous registration & public scrutiny. Registration now runs in two cycles each year, followed by claims-and-objections; the Official List of Electors (OLE) is published online and searchable, and was publicly displayed in all regions.
โข Voter list facts, not rumors. The OLE stands at 757,690 (men 376,703; women 380,987). Importantly, ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐บ๐ถ๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฑ ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฟ๐ผ๐น๐น ๐ถ๐ป๐ณ๐น๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป.
โข Openness at close and count. Presiding officers now have explicit obligations for openness; stiffer penalties apply for failures to publish or obstruction.
โข Accessibility and administration. New provisions encourage accessible polling places; election staff recruitment and materials preparation are well underway; the CEO must issue a report within 12 hours of results calculation.
โข Campaign environment so far. Campaigning has been generally peaceful, and most parties signed the ERC Code of Conduct (the mission urges all parties to sign).
๐๐ฅ๐๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐จ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ:
โข OFACโs role vs. bank autonomy.
The report notes โover-compliance,โ but omits that OFAC does not direct banks to override their own risk controls. U.S. guidance consistently stresses a risk-based approach, not blanket account closuresโand decision-making ultimately rests with each financial institutionโs internal policies.
โข Material-support exposure (incl. non-U.S. persons).
OFAC also warns that personsโincluding non-U.S. personsโwho materially assist, sponsor, or provide support to sanctioned persons/entities can themselves be exposed to sanctions. Any assessment of banking actions should weigh this counter-risk alongside concerns about โde-risking.โ
โข AML/CFT obligations & de-risking discretion.
International AML/CFT standards recognize that banks may decline or exit relationships where the money-laundering/terrorist-financing risk or reputational exposure is unacceptable. โDe-riskingโ in this context means closing accounts of clients assessed as high-riskโa decision grounded in regulatory expectations, not political preference.
โข No political direction over compliance.
Attempts by any political actors to instruct banks on account-opening/closure contradict the risk-based regime. The correct standard is independent compliance judgment by the bankโs board and compliance team, informed by sanctions and AML/CFT rules, not political pressure.
โข Nomination-day assault (WIN operative).
Video purportedly shows a WIN operative assaulting a female supporter over alleged payment disputes tied to nomination-day activities.
โข Alleged inducement payments (hinterland meetings).
Videos reportedly show individuals being paid to attend/support WIN events in hinterland regionsโdespite GECOM reminders that such acts are unlawful under electoral law.
โข Vandalism of campaign materials.
Additional video materials depict destruction of the incumbentโs campaign materials by persons WIN members/associates.
โข Forced entry and abuse in an Amerindian village.
Reports on record indicate WIN members entered a village event without Toshao approval and verbally abused the Toshao.
โข Coordinated online harassment.
Accounts linked to WIN saturated social media with abusive content targeting opponents.
๐๐ก๐ข๐ฅ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ฌ๐ ๐ฌ๐ข๐ ๐ง๐ข๐๐ข๐๐๐ง๐ญ ๐จ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ ๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐๐๐ซ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ก๐๐ฏ๐ ๐๐ฌ๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐ญ๐๐ซ ๐๐๐ง๐ญ๐๐ซโ๐ฌ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐-๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐ซ๐๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ, ๐ ๐ง๐จ๐ง๐๐ญ๐ก๐๐ฅ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ซ๐๐๐ข๐๐ญ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐๐จ๐ซ๐ญ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ซ๐๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ญ๐๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐จ๐๐ฎ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ. ๐ ๐๐ฑ๐ญ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฆ๐ฒ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ง๐ค๐ฌ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐ญ๐๐ซ ๐๐๐ง๐ญ๐๐ซ ๐ญ๐๐๐ฆ, ๐๐ง๐ ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐๐๐ค๐ง๐จ๐ฐ๐ฅ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฉ๐จ๐ฌ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ ๐ก๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ฅ๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ๐ฌ ๐ง๐จ๐ญ๐๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ข๐ซ ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ.