2 months ago
10
The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has issued a firm rebuttal to suggestions that President Irfaan Ali’s decision to name September 1, 2025, as the date for the upcoming General and Regional Elections was based solely on the advice of its Chairperson.
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In a statement, GECOM said it was necessary to clarify the events leading up to the President’s announcement, following what it described as “pertinent disinformation” shared during a press conference on May 27.
According to GECOM, President Ali contacted the Chairperson on May 23 to ask whether elections could be held within three months. The Chair then consulted with the Chief Election Officer (CEO), who confirmed that the Secretariat was in a state of readiness and had already drafted a preliminary work plan for such a possibility. That draft placed a potential election day at August 25, 2025—within the constitutionally required three-month window. GECOM’s Chair is retired Justice Claudette Singh, and its Chief Elections Officer is Vishnu Singh.
GECOM emphasized that a “schedule of activities” discussed at a May 20 meeting was not the formal work plan for the elections, but rather a document prepared in response to a request to estimate the earliest possible election date once they became constitutionally due. While a Commissioner had made observations on the schedule, it was never finalized or adopted as the operational plan.
With the CEO’s assurance and in accordance with Article 61 of the Constitution—which mandates elections within three months of Parliament’s dissolution—the Chair advised the President that GECOM would be able to conduct the elections within the specified timeframe.
GECOM concluded its statement by expressing hope that the clarification would put to rest claims that the Chair had acted unilaterally.” Hopefully, the foregoing will dispel the publicised notion that the Chairman acted unilaterally, as was propagated during the above-referenced Press Conference,” it said.
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