GECOM shuts down Opposition’s claims of unilateral election date decision

…confirms September 1 readiness backed by draft workplan

The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has outrightly rejected claims by its Opposition appointed commissioners, that Chairperson, retired Justice Claudette Singh, unilaterally informed President Dr Irfaan Ali that elections could be held on September 1st. As a matter of fact, GECOM noted that a draft plan with an early election date had already been prepared.
On Tuesday, Opposition nominated commissioners on the commission hosted a press conference in which they claimed that the agency was not in a position to host elections on September 1. However, the Opposition’s claims were firmly debunked by GECOM in a statement on Wednesday, in which it called out any attempts to mislead the public.

One such piece of misinformation was the commissioners’ claim that they had been discussing a workplan at the level of the commission, with a September 22 date. According to GECOM in its statement, this was not intended to be a workplan for the conduct of elections but rather.
Instead, this was merely a schedule of activities to give an idea of the timeframe for holding elections at the earliest date. GECOM explained that President Ali called the Chairwoman on May 23, enquiring if elections could be held within three months.
“The schedule of activities was prepared based on a request for the GECOM Secretariat to prepare a schedule indicating what would be the earliest date on which the elections could be held after they become constitutionally due. Brief observations on the schedule of activities were made by a Commissioner during a Commission meeting.”
“Accordingly, an undertaking was given by the Chief Election Officer to consider the observations and amend the schedule if necessary. The schedule of activities was never intended to be used as the work plan for the elections, nor was it discussed in this context,” GECOM said.
It was also explained that the Chairperson consulted Chief Elections Officer (CEO) Vishnu Persaud, who had already prepared a draft work plan in case there was a need for early elections. Further, this draft plan had placed the earliest possible election date at August 25, 2025.
“Armed with the information provided by the Chief Election Officer, and in consideration of Article 61 of the Constitution that “elections shall be held on such day within three months after every dissolution of Parliament as the President shall appoint by proclamation”, the Chairman advised President Ali that GECOM would be able to hold the elections within three (3) months.”
“Hopefully, the foregoing will dispel the publicized notion that the Chairman acted unilaterally, as was propagated during the above-referenced Press Conference,” the election agency added in its statement.
At a press conference on Tuesday morning, Commissioners Vincent Alexander and Charles Corbin claimed that GECOM is not in a state of readiness to conduct elections on September 1.
They complained that the last workplan discussed at the Commission level had a September 22nd date and that this new workplan would result in shortened deadlines. When asked directly whether the issues they raised are legal breaches, however, Corbin admitted that they are not. He noted that certain timelines are indeed discretionary at the level of GECOM.
Despite expressing concern over GECOM’s readiness and a willingness to address the issues internally, however, it would later emerge on Tuesday afternoon that the opposition commissioners walked out of a statutory meeting to deliberate on the September 1st proposed workplan.
However, GECOM commissioner Sase Gunraj had pushed back on the opposition aligned Commissioners claims. According to him on Tuesday, GECOM has sufficient time to prepare for elections on September 1.
He noted that GECOM has already begun many of the key statutory tasks that are required ahead of elections and it’s just a matter of completing them. Gunraj also pointed out that everyone, especially political parties, should be aware of the timeframe within which elections would be due.
During his speech at the 59th Independence Flag Raising ceremony at Albion, East Berbice-Corentyne, Region Six on Sunday night, President Ali had announced that the official date for the 2025 General and Regional Elections will be September 1, 2025. He had noted that he reached this decision following consultation with GECOM Chairperson, retired Justice Claudette Singh on GECOM’s readiness.
Following his announcement, several opposition figures have endorsed the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), including The Citizenship Initiative (TCI) founder Shazam Ally and Region Four Chairman Daniel Seeram. Additionally, United States (US)-sanctioned businessman Azruddin Mohammed made the more controversial declaration that he intends to run for President.