Latest update September 28th, 2026 10:20 AM
Opposition raises GECOM impasse, LGE delays with diplomats
…says 69 APNU scrutineers do not represent current opposition layout
(Kaieteur News) – The Office of the Leader of the Opposition has formally engaged international partners, diplomatic missions, and institutions over the deadlock at the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), warning that the impasse threatens the nation’s democratic calendar and local electoral timelines.
In an official statement issued on 19th August, 2026, titled “Guyana’s Electoral Institutions at a Crossroads: GECOM, Representation and the 2025 Political Transition,” the Office of the Leader of the Opposition outlined several institutional delays stalling preparations for the upcoming Local Government Elections (LGE). Statutorily due by November 2026, three years following the 2023 polls, the elections face potential delay due to a non-functioning Commission.
Leader of the Opposition Azruddin Mohamed and Former Leader of the Opposition, Aubrey Norton
The briefing mirrors recent warnings from international observers, including the Carter Center, which voiced “considerable concern” that an improperly constituted Commission could leave GECOM unable to hold LGE within the statutory timeframe or implement vital electoral reforms.
The dispute stems from the political realignments following the 2025 General and Regional Elections, which saw We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) emerge as the primary opposition party alongside the Forward Guyana Movement (FGM). Despite these shifts, opposition seats on the Commission remain held by long-serving Opposition nominated commissioners Vincent Alexander, Charles Corbin, and Desmond Trotman.
Leader of the Opposition Azruddin Mohamed maintains that Article 161(3)(b) of the Constitution mandates that opposition representation reflect the current parliamentary reality. Following consultations with non-governmental opposition leaders, including APNU’s Aubrey Norton and FGM’sAmanza Walton, Mohamed formally submitted three replacement nominees to President Irfaan Ali on 30th June, 2026, Roysdale Forde, S.C, SiandDhurjon and Damien DaSilva. With no substantive response from the Head of State, a follow-up letter was dispatched on 7th August, 2026, urging executive action.
However, sitting Commissioner Vincent Alexander and former Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton have pushed back against the recall attempt, contending that commissioners cannot be removed simply due to shifts in parliamentary leadership and that no legal vacancies exist outside of resignation or death.
Scrutineer allocation under scrutiny
A secondary conflict has erupted over the allocation of field scrutineers under Section 33D of the Representation of the People Act. The Opposition revealed that none of the 69 opposition scrutineers currently remunerated by GECOM belong to WIN or FGM, leaving the present parliamentary opposition without statutory oversight in the ongoing voter registration process.
Although the Opposition Leader submitted a new list of scrutineer nominations to GECOM following inter-party consultations, the Commission’s Chief Election Officer questioned whether the submission met the statutory standard of “meaningful consultation. “In response, the Opposition Office argued that GECOM lacks the constitutional authority to override choices made by the Office of the Leader of the Opposition, urging the electoral body to give immediate effect to the revised appointments to ensure voter list transparency.
Clarifying that it does not seek foreign intervention in domestic legal affairs, the Office of the Leader of the Opposition urged the international community to monitor the situation closely to encourage constitutional compliance, transparency, and institutional independence. “Constitutional and electoral institutions should recognise enduring democratic principles, not the identities of particular political parties,” the statement read. “Governments change. Oppositions change. Political parties change. The constitutional framework must endure.”
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- APNU, GECOM, LGE, opposition
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