Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed has again called on President Irfaan Ali to act on the impasse at the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), saying his party has submitted its nominees for commissioners but has been unable to make progress on the matter.
Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Mohamed said the party had submitted its names to the commission and copied the President on the correspondence, but discussions are at a standstill. The President has to formally signify his acceptance of the Opposition Leader’s nominees.
Mohamed expressed hope that Ali would intervene to resolve the matter, while indicating that his legal team had also considered approaching the courts. However, Mohamed said his lawyers were concerned about the time such proceedings could take.
“We are at an impasse right now as it relates to this commission,” he said, adding that he hoped the President would intervene.
On September 13 Kiskadee Watch reported that Mohamed said that the impasse over his proposed nominees to GECOM remained unresolved despite two letters to President Ali.
“We submitted all the names and everything, we wrote the president, and are still at an impasse,” Mohamed told Kiskadee Watch.
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 in September 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.
There has still been no response from the President.
Region Ten
On Monday, Mohamed also questioned the delay in convening a meeting of the Region Ten Regional Democratic Council (RDC) to facilitate the election of its chairperson, arguing that the administration could move to resolve the matter without requiring further court proceedings.
“Why do we have to move to the courts when they can convene this meeting as early as tomorrow?” he asked.
The Region Ten dispute has been a source of contention between WIN and the governing administration, with the opposition party accusing the government of delaying the process needed to allow the council to elect its chairperson.
WIN General Secretary Odessa Primus on Monday said the party had pursued several avenues to resolve the Region Ten matter, including protests, engagements and written correspondence, before turning to the courts.
She said the party was now awaiting a date for the hearing.
Primus maintained that court action should not be the first option for resolving political and administrative disputes, but said WIN had resorted to that avenue after its other efforts failed to produce a resolution.
“We should exhaust every other avenue, and if it doesn’t work, then we come down to the courts,” she said.
More than a year after general and regional elections there is no elected chairman or vice chairman as the Regional Executive Officer – appointed by a government-led body – has refused to convene a new round of voting. The new voting would likely result in a win for WIN’s candidates and this is what the ruling party appears to be seeking to avoid.
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