At the invitation of the Government of Guyana, the Commonwealth Secretary-General, Mr Kamalesh Sharma, constituted an Observer Group for the 28 November 2011 National and Regional Elections. In line with usual practice, the Secretary-General sent an Assessment Mission to Guyana to assess the pre-electoral environment, prior to his final decision on whether to constitute a Commonwealth Observer Group. The Assessment Mission was in the country from 22 to 27 October 2011.