GECOM’s current capabilities can deliver credible elections if procedures followed – US Ambassador

United States (US) Ambassador to Guyana, Nicole Theriot, has expressed confidence in the Guyana Elections Commission’s (GECOM) capacity to conduct free and fair elections, if all established procedures are properly followed.
Speaking at the launch of Guyana Diaspora Forum Series, the Ambassador emphasised that credibility in elections hinges on transparency, professionalism, and strict adherence to electoral laws and guidelines.

Theriot stated that international technical and observational support for Guyana’s upcoming elections has reached unprecedented levels – an indication of the country’s growing global importance. Among the many key developments include four international elections experts embedded within GECOM, including specialists in Information Technology (IT), logistics, public affairs, and a Chief Technical Advisor (CTA) with decades of global electoral experience.
The Carter Center, long held in high esteem by Guyanese across the political spectrum, has returned to observe the elections, largely self-funded, with some assistance from Canada. The Organisation of American States (OAS) will deploy a full election observer mission, primarily funded by the US. Meanwhile, the European Union (EU) is financing a 60-person election observer mission valued at US$2.5 million, and is also providing funds to the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) to conduct a national voter awareness campaign.
“Could the election process be better or more modern? – of course.  So could ours.  But will what they have in place now lead to credible elections if all of the GECOM procedures and rules are followed – we believe the answer is yes.  And we believe this because we have, as an international community, provided four embedded technical advisors who work with GECOM on a daily basis.  These are international elections experts with decades of experience all over the world and include public affairs, IT, & logistics experts, as well as a chief technical advisor. We convinced The Carter Center to return – mainly self-funded but with some assistance from Canada – to observe the elections and tabulation.  And, as you know, TCC is a universally respected organisation in Guyana, so we were thrilled to get them on board,” she said.

Observing the elections process
“The OAS – mainly funded by the US – will send an observer team, as will CARICOM, and the EU is funding a 60-person observer mission to the tune of 2.5 million dollars, further demonstrating the growing importance of Guyana globally. The EU is also funding NGO International IDEA who are conducting a voter awareness and information campaign, and the US is providing election security training to the GPF (Guyana Police Force) through a partnership with the Miami Dade police department and the NYPD (New York Police Department). There are two Commonwealth elections experts who have worked in Guyana many times who will be arriving this week to advise GECOM and all of the ABCEU embassies will be fielding observers for elections, as will Guyana’s Private Sector Commission (PSC), AmCham, the Guyana Council of Organisations for Persons with Disabilities, and many others,” she pointed out.
The Ambassador also reiterated the US’s support for strong democratic institutions in Guyana and underscored the importance of public trust in the electoral process ahead of the 2025 General and Regional Elections.
According to Ambassador Theriot, nearly every credible organisation in and out of Guyana will be observing the election process — a move designed to fortify transparency and credibility. “The US does not control or interfere in the election process of a sovereign country.  We do, however, provide support when requested, and we work closely with our international partners – including other embassies, IOs, and NGOs – to provide whatever support might be needed to help Guyana achieve free, fair, and transparent elections”.
“So, needless to say, there will be many, many eyes on the process in every region and at every polling station in Guyana come 1 September.  And importantly, we are all entirely lashed up and are coordinating to ensure full nationwide coverage, especially at potentially concerning polling stations.  So, in short we are doing everything we can to help ensure free, fair, transparent and credible elections in Guyana, and we believe that will happen,” she added.
GECOM has approved six parties to contest the upcoming elections: the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), led by presidential candidate Dr Irfaan Ali; the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), led by Aubrey Norton; the Alliance for Change (AFC), led by presidential candidate Attorney Nigel Hughes; the Forward Guyana Movement (FGM), with presidential candidate Amanza Walton-Desir; We Invest in Nationhood (WIN), led by US-sanctioned Azruddin Mohammed; and the Assembly of Liberty and Prosperity (ALP), created by former APNU Minister Simona Broomes.
Both the AFC and WIN parties had publicly noted that they were in negotiations with other parties looking into the possibility of a joint list, while the PPP, APNU and FGM were not considering a list. In fact, political parties have already kickstarted their campaigns across the country.