Elections will be called within constitutional time frame – Pres Ali

– assures PPP/C Govt will never betray its mandate

When it comes to elections, which are due this year, President Dr Irfaan Ali has assured that a date for elections will be called within the constitutional time frame, and that the public can be assured that the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government will never go beyond its constitutional mandate.
Traditionally, the President announces the election date, kickstarting the official work of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to prepare for conducting the polls.
On the sidelines of the launch of the Universal Healthcare Voucher on Saturday, President Ali was asked when the Government is likely to set a date for election. The Head of State assured that his PPP/C Government will always respect and uphold its constitutional mandate.

“Constitutionally, I still have a lot of time. Elections constitutionally are still closer to the end of the year. So, don’t worry. What you can be assured of is this Government will not go a single day beyond its constitutional mandate, unlike what you are accustomed to or what you would have been exposed to, after the no confidence motion and leading into that election,” the Head of State said.
President Ali was of course, referring to the 2020 General and Regional Elections, which were already overdue since the then A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) had fallen to a No confidence motion in December 2018 and were supposed to have called election within three months.
However, after the election in which APNU/AFC lost by over 15,000 votes, it took another five months of delays before President Ali, along with members of his cabinet could be sworn in as the new Government. According to the President, Guyanese can be assured that the constitutional time frames would be followed by his Government.
“You can be assured that we’ll be within our constitutional mandates and confidently, we’ll be marching into elections and I’ll see you after that,” the Head of State further explained to members of the media.
While no date has been set, the 2025 elections are likely to be held in November 2025. It will follow the March 2020 General and Regional Elections that were embroiled in controversy following blatant attempts by the then APNU/AFC Administration to rig the elections in order to stay in power.
The PPP/C was sworn into office five months after the March 2, 2020 polls. Several senior staff of GECOM, along with political activists are currently before the courts for various electoral fraud charges.
The defendants in the election fraud cases are former Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield, his former deputy Roxanne Myers, former Region Four Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo, former People’s National Congress Reform (PNC/R) Chairperson Volda Lawrence; PNC/R activist Carol Smith-Joseph, and GECOM employees Sheffern February, Enrique Livan, Denise Babb-Cummings, and Michelle Miller.
They are accused of a number of offences, including misconduct while holding public office, presenting falsified documentation, and planning to manipulate Guyana’s voters by presenting an inaccurate vote total. These accused persons are all out on cash bail.
The trial, initially overseen by Senior Magistrate Leron Daly, began in July 2024 but was paused due to her extended medical leave. This led to the case being reassigned to Magistrate McGusty.
When the matter was called on December 8, 2024, the defence requested a fresh start to the already delayed trial.
In contrast, the prosecution had contended that restarting the case was unnecessary and that the court should simply recall the previous witnesses. Ultimately, Magistrate McGusty ordered that the election fraud trial be restarted.
After these delays and resumptions, the election fraud trial resumed last month with testimony from the Head of the Diaspora Unit, Rosalinda Rasul, who was an accredited observer with the American Chamber of Commerce during the 2020 General and Regional Elections.
Having previously testified before the case was halted, Rasul once again took the stand to recount her observations during the elections, including the acts of intimidation meted out to observers by then GECOM staff.