Opposition walkouts will not stall September 1 elections – Jagdeo assures

Opposition-nominated Commissioners on the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) continue to walk out of meetings that deal with preparations for the upcoming polls, however, Vice President (VP) Dr Bharrat Jagdeo said their actions cannot delay the hosting of the 2025 General and Regional Elections on September 1.
“We predicted this, that they are going to try to stymie the work of the Elections Commission so that we can’t have the elections by September 1. I doubt they will succeed because the Commission has already laid out the plan. From what I see and the timeline, I don’t see them being able to disrupt the activities, the preparations for the elections,” Jagdeo explained during his press conference on Thursday.
The Opposition-nominated Commissioners – Vincent Alexander, Desmond Trotman, and Charles Corbin – have repeatedly walked out of meetings since the announcement of September 1 as election day.
Under current procedures, the quorum for statutory meetings requires the presence of the Chairperson and at least two commissioners from both the Government and opposition sides.
However, a revised quorum structure—consisting of the Chairperson and any three commissioners—has been invoked under constitutional provisions to allow GECOM’s work to continue. Jagdeo noted that the actions of the Opposition Commissioners are reminiscent of their posture during the 2020 elections.
“I thought they had an opportunity to change the way they work but you can’t depend on them to act in good faith,” he noted.
Attorney General (AG) Anil Nandlall had described the Opposition Commissioners’ behaviour as “undemocratic and authoritarian”. He had noted too that their actions indicate that the political opposition is not ready for the upcoming polls.
“On the one hand, Norton is puffing his chest and saying he is ready for the elections but on the other hand, he has his cohorts at GECOM carrying out his directions to obstruct the process as far as possible, to frustrate the process as far as possible with the objective of possibly delaying the elections,” Nandlall had suggested.
GECOM has already approved a workplan for the upcoming elections. Nominations Day has been set for July 14.