No changes to polling stations ahead of E-Day - GECOM decides

No changes to polling stations ahead of E-Day – GECOM decides

Aug 31, 2025 News

GECOM Chairperson, Justice (Ret’d) Claudette Singh

Kaieteur News – The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) on Saturday decided that no changes will be made to the current list of polling stations.

The decision was made during a statutory meeting chaired by Justice (Ret’d) Claudette Singh, in the presence of both opposition – and government-nominated commissioners.

This issue was initially brought up during a meeting on Thursday. However, no decision could be made at that time due to a walkout by the opposition-nominated commissioners. As a result, the meeting lost its quorum, delaying any formal resolution.

With general and regional elections scheduled for Monday, the matter was revisited on Saturday, and the Commission concluded that it was too late to make changes to polling locations. The current arrangements, which include 2,709 polling stations, 62 of which are located in private residences, will remain unchanged.

Opposition-nominated commissioner Vincent Alexander explained that the decision ultimately came down to timing. “Though there are different arguments for and against, the timing became the decisive factor,” he stated. He noted that even PPP/C-nominated commissioners agreed to the final decision. “We didn’t want a change, so we are not dissatisfied,” Alexander added.

Following the meeting, PPP commissioner Manoj Narayan expressed support for the outcome and respect for the Chairperson’s authority. “The commissioners respect the decision of Madam Chair. We have always obeyed the decisions made by the Chairperson,” he said.

The issue stemmed from a proposal made during Thursday’s statutory meeting, when PPP/C-nominated commissioners requested that 14 polling stations be moved from public buildings to private residences. Opposition commissioners immediately rejected the proposal, walking out of the meeting and thereby halting proceedings.

Alexander later explained that the request came too late in the process, especially since GECOM had already advertised the final list of polling stations and the objection deadline had passed.

“This was occurring at a time when GECOM had already publicly advertised the location of the polling stations and weeks after the deadline for objections had elapsed. The opposition-appointed commissioners refused to participate in that travesty, hence they withdrew from the meeting,” he stated.

In defence of the proposal, Commissioner Narayan cited legal grounds for the suggested changes. “Section 66 of the Representation of the People Act, together with Sections 34 and 35, make it clear that polling places are to be fixed within the village in which electors are to vote and must be within a reasonable distance of where electors live. That is the law, it is mandatory. GECOM has an obligation to ensure that this is done,” he explained.

Narayan noted that many of the requested changes involved polling places on the East Coast of Demerara, where some voters were assigned to stations in entirely different villages. “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,” he said.

When asked why the matter was raised so close to the election, Narayan clarified that the initial request had been made earlier in the month. “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 12 to 14 on August 15, but we were unable to fully discuss it because of the stance taken by opposition-nominated commissioners,” he explained.

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Claudette Singh, Election, GECOM, No changes, polling stations

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