PPP seeks to move 14 polling places from public buildings to private homes

Aug 29, 2025 News

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…Opposition objects, storms out of GECOM meeting

Kaieteur News – With just three days left before September 1 General and Regional Elections, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) nominated commissioners on Thursday requested that 14 polling stations be moved from public buildings to private residences.

The request was made during a statutory meeting of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) but was met with immediate rejection by opposition-nominated commissioners, who abruptly walked out, resulting in the meeting losing its quorum.

Opposition-nominated commissioner Vincent Alexander speaking with Kaieteur News explained the walkout, stating, “The government-nominated commissioners, with the facilitation of the Chairperson, sought to discuss the PPP’s request for the change of the location of 66 polling stations from public buildings to other buildings, mainly private.” He added, “This was occurring at a time when GECOM had already publicly advertised the location of the polling stations and weeks after the deadline for objection to the location of polling stations had elapsed. The opposition-appointed commissioners refused to participate in that travesty, hence they withdrew from the meeting, which then lost its quorum.”

On the other hand, speaking with Government-nominated commissioner Manoj Narayan confirmed that the PPP had requested to change 12 to 14 polling locations from public buildings to private residences. “The original list was around 66 polling stations. It was reduced to some 12 to 14 polling stations. So the issue today [Thursday] was 12 to 14 polling stations that the PPP made a request for changes to be made,” he said.

Narayan cited legal provisions to justify the proposal, stating, “Their reason for that is stated by law. Section 66 of the Representation of the People Act, together with Sections 34 and especially 35; make it clear that polling places are to be fixed within the village in which electors are to vote. The polling places must also be within a reasonable distance of where the electors live. That is the law, it is mandatory. GECOM has an obligation to ensure that that is done.”

He noted that the request was based on concerns that several polling places, particularly on the East Coast, were located too far from the electors. He explained that, in many cases, voters were required to travel to a different village in order to cast their ballots. “Most, if not all, related to polling places where electors are required to go to a different village to vote. Especially on the East Coast, you have electors from Enterprise who have to go to Melanie, and other similar circumstances. That was what we were trying to rectify today.”

Narayan also said the claims about long distances were supported by fieldwork conducted by GECOM staff. “This was corroborated by the logistics manager of GECOM who went into the field to assess the distance of the polling places that the PPP requested to change.”

Addressing public concerns over the use of private residences, especially in light of past recommendations from the Carter Center and the European Union (EU) to reduce their use, Narayan argued that their use is legally permissible when no suitable public buildings are available. “The law on this is clear, if there isn’t any public building within the village that can be used for polling; the law authorizes the use of private residences. There is nothing wrong with private residences; they have the same checks and balances, the same police presence, the same GECOM personnel, and party agents. There is nothing that could happen there that could lead anyone to have any fear,” he stated.

When asked why the PPP only raised the issue days before the election, Narayan clarified, “It was not only now the request was made. The original request on August 13 was for 66 polling stations. By subsequent days, it was reduced to the same 12 to 14 on August 15, but we were unable to fully discuss it because of the stance taken by opposition-nominated commissioners.”

Narayan stated that the Commission’s next step is to hold another meeting within 48 hours of the walkout. If a quorum is not achieved at that meeting, GECOM is authorized to proceed with a decision on the matter without the approval of the opposition-nominated commissioners.

“Whenever we lose a quorum, the law authorizes us to hold a next meeting within 48 hours, and if there is no quorum at that meeting, GECOM can go ahead and make a decision that was on the agenda from the last meeting, without the other commissioners,” he explained. He noted that the next meeting may be held on Saturday.

GECOM, during its first press conference for the 2025 elections, confirmed that 62 private residences will be used as polling places. GECOM’s Public Relations Officer Yolanda Ward disclosed, “Out of a total of 2,709 polling stations, we have 1,151 polling places, and of that, there are 62 private residences polling places.”

The use of private homes for polling has long been controversial. The number of private residences used has been significantly reduced over the years, from 166 in 2015 to 92 in 2020, after recommendations from the Carter Center and the EU criticized the practice. During the 2020 elections, the then-opposition PPP had raised concerns that private residences could disenfranchise voters. GECOM Chair Justice Claudette Singh later confirmed that the reduction in private residences was in response to these concerns. “It’s not that the polling stations are being removed from the area. It’s just the private residences, they’re moving away from those,” Singh had said. “Why would you use private residences when you have a public place?” At the time, GECOM’s then-Chief Election Officer, Keith Lowenfield, justified the use of private residences in limited cases. “There is absolutely no public or other building that could have been used in these instances and therefore, we had no choice. The residents of those particular divisions, sub-divisions have to vote,” he had stated.

Former President David Granger had also weighed in during the 2020 elections, warning of past abuses when polling was held in “obscure residences” owned by political affiliates. Though he acknowledged the wisdom of reducing private polling places, Granger emphasized that it ultimately remained a decision of the Commission.

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• GECOM, Guyana Elections, opposition, polling stations, PPP

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