Opposition commissioners now on board with elections date

May 30, 2025 News

Kaieteur News- After initially rejecting the proposed date for Guyana’s General and Regional Elections, opposition-nominated commissioners are now in agreement with the September 1 timeline.

This was revealed on Thursday by Commissioner Vincent Alexander, following a nearly four-hour-long meeting at the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) headquarters in Kingston, Georgetown.

Speaking to Kaieteur News after the meeting, Alexander confirmed, “There is no change in terms of the September 1 projection. In the meeting, we went through a work plan, saw some clarity and have agreed on the number of various actions that have to be taken, which is not explicit.”

Opposition commissioners now on board with elections date

Guyana Elections Commission

Despite the progress, Alexander pointed out that several key issues critical to ensuring free and fair elections remain unresolved. “The issues which were outstanding were stamping of the ballot, the number of dead persons on the list… and those matters I contended are critical to a free and fair election, which have not been concluded,” he said.

He added that these matters, which were not included in the current plan but flagged by the opposition as essential, will be addressed in an upcoming meeting. “All the things that were not in the plan that the opposition had contended are critical to a free and fair election will be discussed on Tuesday,” Alexander noted.

The update comes two days after Commissioners Alexander, Desmond Trotman, and Charles Corbin held a press conference criticising the September 1 election date announced by President Irfaan Ali. They argued that the decision was made unilaterally and did not align with GECOM’s internal planning. They further argued that GECOM would not be ready to hold elections on that date.

Alexander stated that at a previous meeting held on May 20, CEO Persaud had submitted a “revised work plan” projecting September 22, 2025, as the earliest feasible date for elections.

However, GECOM, in a statement on Wednesday, refuted this, stating that Chief Election Officer (CEO) Vishnu Persaud confirmed the readiness of the commission, following claims from opposition-nominated commissioners that GECOM Chairperson, Justice (Ret’d) Claudette Singh, provided misleading advice to President Irfaan Ali.

The electoral body also stated that the revised plan mentioned by the commissioners had not been adopted. According to the commission, “The plan cited by the opposition was only a working document and not finalised. Brief observations on the schedule of activities were made by a commissioner during a commission meeting. Accordingly, an undertaking was given by the chief election officer to consider the observations and amend the schedule, if necessary.”

GECOM explained that CEO Persaud had informed Chairperson Singh that starting from June 1, 2025, elections could be conducted by August 25, 2025—well within the constitutionally mandated three-month window.

“Armed with the information provided by the Chief Election Officer, and in consideration of Article 61 of the Constitution that elections shall be held within three (3) months after the dissolution of Parliament, the Chairperson advised President Ali that GECOM would be able to hold the elections within three months,” GECOM stated.

When asked on Thursday about the initial objections to the September 1 date, Alexander confirmed, “All of that was discussed today.”

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