Coretta McDonald elected new President of GTU

Jun 25, 2025 News

Coretta McDonald elected new GTU President

GTU President, Coretta McDonald

Kaieteur News – Coretta McDonald was on Monday elected President of the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) at the union’s 2025 Triennial Elections held at the GTU Headquarters on Woolford Avenue, Georgetown.

The former GTU General Secretary secured 2987 votes and was elected unopposed to the post.

According to a statement released via the GTU’s Facebook page, McDonald secured the most votes while Ms. Mariska Williams was elected as 1st Vice President with 2131 votes and Mr. Karl Vanier was elected as 2nd Vice President with 1236 votes.

Mr. Collis Nicholson with 2697 votes secured the post of General Secretary while Mr. Heathcliff Peters was elected Deputy General Secretary with 2060. Ms. Rarlene Phillips was elected to the post of treasurer with 2132 votes; the Regional Vice President-Berbice post went to Ms. Mehalai McAlmont who secured 517 votes; Regional Vice President-Demerara position went to Mr. Randy Mingo with 1244 and Regional Vice President-Essequibo went to Mr. Thakurdeen Durga with 265 votes.

Meanwhile, McDonald in a statement noted that her election as President of GTU is a win for all teachers. The newly elected GTU President promised that team work will be center of her efforts as head of the union. Most importantly, she vowed to keep the morale of teachers lifted.

“We recognize that coming out of the last negotiations and the signing of that agreement, our teachers felt disenchanted, they felt undervalued, and at the point, they felt that they were betrayed,” she said.

Last April, the GTU announced the list of candidates who have officially accepted their nominations and will be contesting in the upcoming elections. According to the list released by the GTU, McDonald was the lone nominee for the position of President of the GTU.

In an interview with Kaieteur News on Tuesday, McDonald disclosed that there were three other persons who were nominated for the presidency: Sir Martin Samaroo from Essequibo, Collis Nicholson and Julian Cambridge. However, she was the only nominee to accept. The election was conducted using the postal ballot method.

Dr. Mark Lyte was the last president of the GYU.

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Coretta McDonald., Dr. Mark Lyte, GTU President, Ms. Mehalai McAlmont

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