-Commission has not met for more than a year
Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed says the impasse over his proposed nominees to the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) remains unresolved despite two letters to President Irfaan Ali.
“We submitted all the names and everything, we wrote the president, and are still at an impasse,” Mohamed told Kiskadee Watch yesterday.
He said the Opposition wants its nominees installed on GECOM so that it can participate fully in preparations for the Local Government Elections, noting that communities across the country have pressing issues that need to be addressed.
GECOM has not met for more than a year as the Chair, Justice of Appeal (ret’d) Claudette Singh says new nominations have to be made by the Opposition Leader.
Mohamed accused the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) of being reluctant to proceed with the elections, alleging that the party does not want him or his nominees represented on GECOM.
“The PPP, they are scared to go into local government elections. They don’t want me on this commission. They don’t want my nominees, the names that I put forward on this commission to represent,” Mohamed said.
He added that We Invest in Nationhood (WIN), which emerged from the 2025 elections as the largest opposition party, wants “a seat at the table.”
Mohamed formally advised President Ali on June 30 to appoint attorneys Roysdale Forde SC, Siand Dhurjon and Damien Da Silva as opposition-nominated GECOM commissioners. After receiving no substantive response, he wrote the President again on August 7.
Kiskadee Watch yesterday attempted to obtain a comment from Attorney General Anil Nandlall SC on the deadlock, but Nandlall said the questions should be directed to the President.
With the domestic dispute unresolved, Mohamed’s office has also sought to draw international attention to the issue.
On August 19, the Office of the Opposition Leader circulated a briefing note to diplomatic missions and international organisations outlining the continuing deadlock over GECOM’s composition and the representation of opposition parties nearly a year after the 2025 elections.
The Office asked Guyana’s international partners to continue monitoring the impasse and encourage a resolution consistent with the Constitution and the rule of law. It stressed, however, that it was not seeking direct international intervention in Guyana’s constitutional processes.
The Office said that electoral institutions and processes should reflect the country’s changed political landscape following the 2025 elections.
The international concerns have been echoed by the Carter Center, which has warned that the GECOM impasse could have consequences for both the electoral calendar and the implementation of electoral reforms.
Following stakeholder discussions in Guyana in June, the Carter Center expressed “considerable concern” over the impasse surrounding GECOM’s composition.
The Center warned that without a fully functioning commission, GECOM could be unable to organise Local Government Elections within the statutory deadline this year and would not have adequate time to implement reforms ahead of the next General and Regional Elections.
The Center called on Guyanese officials to implement the recommendations contained in its final report on the 2025 elections, including reforms to election-management bodies, campaign-finance legislation, the media environment and measures to improve transparency and public confidence in the voters’ list.
It also supported an amendment to the Constitutional Reform Act to reflect the current configuration of parliamentary political parties. The Center noted that Nandlall had acknowledged the need for such an amendment following the elections and urged the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Constitutional Reform to act quickly.
The Carter Center said the reform process must be inclusive and representative, urging continued engagement among Guyanese stakeholders to strengthen the country’s democratic institutions.
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