‘Electoral integrity compromised’ – TIGI slams 2025 polls, calls GECOM ‘incompetent’ and politically-captured

Jan 21, 2026 News

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(Kaieteur News) – The Transparency Institute of Guyana Inc. (TIGI) has delivered a damning verdict on the 2025 General and Regional Elections, concluding that the polls were conducted under conditions that “substantially compromised” electoral integrity and fell far short of international democratic standards.

In its Observer Mission Report released Tuesday, TIGI acknowledged that voting day was largely peaceful. However, it warned that beneath the calm surface lay a deeply flawed electoral framework marked by compromised voter lists, institutional dysfunction at the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), suppression of census data, abuse of state media and public resources, and the complete absence of campaign finance regulation.

Among the key findings highlighted by TIGI were compromised voter list integrity, unaddressed statistical anomalies, institutional failure at GECOM, suppression of census data, and abuse of state media and resources. TIGI stated that its observations point to an urgent need for restructuring GECOM. “GECOM operates as one of the world’s most expensive electoral bodies while demonstrating fundamental incompetence and political control. Combined with census suppression, state media and resource abuse, and unregulated campaign finance, the framework for the 2025 elections is incompatible with international standards,” the organisation said.

On voter list integrity, TIGI reported that its observations revealed evidence of deceased persons remaining on the voter list, despite assurances from GECOM that all death notifications had been processed. The report noted that between 2015 and 2025, the voter list grew by 32.7 per cent while the population increased by only 14 per cent, creating a 19-percentage-point disparity. TIGI said GECOM’s Chief Election Officer declined to address whether this constituted a statistical anomaly, stating that he lacked authority to speak on behalf of the Commission.

The observer mission also raised concerns about census data suppression, pointing out that the government’s failure to publish the 2022 Census before the elections prevented verification of population data. Although GECOM previously stated that all death notifications up to May 2025—totalling 23,731 flagged deaths between 2021 and 2025—had been processed, TIGI said its observers documented deceased individuals still appearing on the voter list. This, the organisation said, creates a, “a fundamental discrepancy between GECOM’s claims and reality. This contributes to artificial inflation and creates fraud opportunities.”  TIGI further criticised the voter registration process, stating that it lacks sufficient safeguards to ensure the integrity of the list.

The report also noted a sharp increase in Commonwealth citizen registrations in 2025, with 498 recorded—a 460 per cent increase compared to 2023. However, TIGI flagged a significant error in which GECOM listed Egypt as a Commonwealth country. According to the report, this mistake reflects, “Fundamental quality control failure, Questions about data reliability, Possible ineligible registrations, and Institutional incompetence in core functions.”  TIGI further added, “TIGI is also not convinced that GECOM requested and maintained adequate information on such persons. Our fear is that the cumulative number of such persons is significantly understated.”

Additionally, the observer mission documented the abuse of state media and resources during the electoral period. TIGI stated, “State media outlets – Guyana Chronicle, NCN, and Department of Public Information continued to function as ruling party propaganda arms throughout the electoral period, providing free coverage while opposition parties were required to pay for access, or may have been denied access.” This, the report said, violates international standards that require equal access, impartiality, and a clear separation between government information and party campaigning.

The mission further observed the use of state resources, ranging from transportation, including military and private aircraft, vehicles, and vessels, to information dissemination through phone calls linked to cash grant data to advance the interests of the ruling party. Such practices, TIGI said, “Creates unlevel playing field, denies voters balanced information, and provides massive incumbency advantage funded by taxpayers.” The organisation also criticised GECOM for failing to monitor media impartiality, establish guidelines, or sanction violations.

On campaign financing, TIGI highlighted that Guyana’s elections are conducted without any campaign finance regulation. The report noted the absence of donation limits, source restrictions, disclosure requirements, spending caps, or enforcement mechanisms, allowing political parties to operate without a legal framework governing financial accountability.

Based on its findings, TIGI recommended a complete institutional overhaul of GECOM. “The problems are structural political control is embedded in the design, costs are excessive and disconnected from performance, and there is no accountability for failures,” the organisation stated. TIGI added that GECOM does not lack resources, noting that it received several billions of dollars during the Twelfth Parliament, but instead lacks independence, initiative, and effective leadership.

The observer mission recommended that GECOM conduct a comprehensive voter list audit with independent oversight, issue a public correction regarding the Egypt error and review all Commonwealth registrations, explain the 19-percentage-point disparity between voter list and population growth, and publish a cost-benefit analysis with regional comparisons.

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• electoral integrity, Enrico Woolford, GECOM, TIGI

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