UK, UNDP to help GECOM strengthen electoral process under $208.9M project

…technical support, capacity-building among key priorities

The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has received support to enhance its institutional capacity and strengthen electoral processes ahead of the 2025 General and Regional Elections through a more than $200 million programme that is being funded by the United Kingdom (UK) Government with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
With General and Regional Elections expected later this year, the Electoral Support Project will provide high-level technical assistance, international expertise and best practices to support GECOM’s core activities in administering elections that meet international standards.
The project is designed to support both the immediate and longer-term needs of GECOM in managing the 2025 electoral cycle and will continue through to March 2026. The UK has allocated some £750,000 or G$208.9 million to support this initiative, while the UNDP will oversee its implementation.
A joint statement on Friday, explained that this partnership underscores the importance of international cooperation in bolstering national systems through the application of global best practices tailored to Guyana’s unique political and cultural context.
It added that building on the lessons learnt during previous electoral cycles, there is strong commitment and renewed emphasis on fostering transparency, trust, and inclusive participation in the electoral process.
The key objectives of the project include technical support for 2025 Elections, which will see the deployment of senior international electoral experts, who will be based within GECOM to provide technical advice and support to strengthen processes such as communications, operations and logistics, etc, for the preparation, management and conduct of the elections.
Another focus of the initiative will be capacity building. This includes institutional strengthening of GECOM’s operational systems, human resources, and technical capacity for sustainable electoral administration. The project will also prioritise improved communications and stakeholder engagement with enhanced public information strategies and fostering more inclusive engagement among electoral stakeholders to promote transparency and trust.

Supporting and enhancing
Through this collaboration, the partners have reaffirmed their commitment to supporting and enhancing Guyana’s electoral processes and procedures and fostering social cohesion.
In welcoming the launch of the project, GECOM Chairperson, Justice (Ret’d) Claudette Singh emphasised that “support through strategic partnerships is always welcomed, particularly from institutions that stand on the pillars of governance, democracy and rule of law – which aligns to GECOM’s constitutional mandate for the execution of free, fair and transparent elections in Guyana.”
Strategic investment
Also speaking on the significance of the initiative, UNDP Resident Representative, Berdi Berdiyev, emphasised that the project represents a strategic investment in strengthening democratic governance in Guyana. He noted that “the project aligns with key priorities of UNDP’s Country Programme Document 2022–2026 to strengthen mechanisms that support transparent and effective democratic processes and positively contributes to achievement of the SDGs on partnerships, peace, justice and strong institutions.”

Meanwhile, British High Commissioner to Guyana, Jane Miller noted, “The UK is pleased to contribute to efforts that supports Guyana’s electoral processes in line with international best practices. This project reflects the continued UK-Guyana partnership to strengthen institutions and promote good governance.”
The UK had played a major role in ensuring Guyana’s democracy was upheld during the contentious five months following the March 2020 General and Region Elections and had previously committed to working with local authorities to avoid a recurrence of those events at the 2025 polls.

No repeat of 2020
“The UK Government doesn’t want to see a repeat of 2020 and throughout the world, we’ve worked with countries on free and fair elections. And we’re doing the same here,” Miller, who only took up her posting here in 2021, had declared during an interview with Guyana Times last October.
In preparation for the 2025 polls, the UK diplomat has been engaging local stakeholders including GECOM to offer support for the upcoming elections. While the British High Commission in Guyana, as customary, will field an Election Observer Mission that will be on the ground, Miller had contended that the events and preparations leading up to Polling Day is important.
Earlier in October 2024, the ABCE diplomatic missions in Guyana – United States (US), Britain, Canada and the European Union (EU)– engaged GECOM on support for the upcoming polls.
Following a relatively smooth polling day on 2 March 2020, Guyana was plunged into a five-month-long electoral impasse. This came in the wake of alleged attempts by senior officials of GECOM and the then People’s National Congress-led A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (PNC-led APNU/AFC) Coalition Government to delay the official results, amid their refusal to concede defeat and demit office.
The ABCE diplomatic missions in Guyana, at the time, were vocal in their calls for democracy to prevail and for the will of the Guyanese people to be respected. The heightened pressure from the West led to the APNU/AFC eventually conceding and allowed the Dr Irfaan Ali-led administration to finally take office on August 2, 2020.
Following those events, several senior GECOM officials and political activists had been charged and placed before the courts on a series of electoral fraud charges including misconduct while holding public office, presenting falsified documentation, and planning to manipulate Guyana’s voters by presenting an inaccurate vote total.