GECOM agrees to accept polling agents of four political parties despite late submissions

The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has indicated that approval was given to four of the six political parties that are contesting the upcoming General and Regional Elections on Monday, September 1, to make a last-minute submission for the appointment of party agents after they failed to meet prescribed deadlines.
In a statement on Saturday evening, GECOM said the We Invest in Nationhood (WIN), Alliance for Change (AFC), Forward Guyana Movement (FGM) and Assembly of Liberty and Prosperity (ALP) political parties had missed the statutory timeline for the submission of the appointment of Assistant Agents, Polling Agents and Candidates to the Poll and to the Count. Section 24 (2) of the Representation of the People Act (ROPA) requires that such notification be given to the respective Returning Officers no later than seven (7) days before election day.
After failing to meet this deadline, the four parties had publicly called on and submitted written appeals to the Elections Commission to grant approvals for the appointment of their respective polling agents. Consequently, GECOM held a special sitting of a statutory meeting on Saturday during which the requests were approved by the seven-member Commission in the interest of fairness and transparency, and to ensure the integrity of the upcoming electoral process.
“As a consequence of the Commission’s decision, Chief Election Officer (CEO) Mr Vishnu Persaud, immediately notified all the concerned political parties’ representatives, informing them of the development and urging them to pursue accreditation of their Agents and Candidates with respective Returning Officers as soon as possible, given the timeframe that is available for this to be done,” GECOM stated. Only Friday evening, the Election Commission had to clarify a misrepresentation from the WIN party, which had issued a statement earlier that day, blaming GECOM for its late submission. But GECOM indicated that the CEO Vishnu Persaud, though not required to, had informed all parties via email that they were required to submit in writing the details of all their agents no later than seven days before Elections day to the Returning Officer (RO), which the WIN party did not comply with.
GECOM says the party’s attempt to cast blame on the Commission was “inaccurate” and “misleading”.
Moreover, the Commission noted that despite the late submission, it was prepared to be flexible and discuss the matter to ensure that all parties including WIN have polling agents in place on Monday. However, that meeting on Thursday ended after the Opposition-nominated Commissioners walked out and was rescheduled for Saturday. Nevertheless, GECOM urged all political parties to comply with the law and act responsibly in their public communications, noting that spreading misleading claims risks undermining public confidence in the electoral process, which is unacceptable at this crucial time.
“The Commission reaffirms its commitment to ensuring that the General and Regional Elections on September 1, 2025 are free, fair, transparent and credible. This is to guarantee transparency and to ensure that no doubts are cast on the credibility of the elections before polling day,” the Elections Commission cautioned in Friday’s missive.