Opposition leader seeks international intervention to end GECOM stalemate

Last Updated on Thursday, 20 August 2026, 22:09 by Writer

The opposition leader, Azruddin Mohamed, has appealed to the international community to persuade the political parties to end an almost one-year long running dispute over the imbalanced parliamentary representation of the seven-member Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).

“We respectfully encourage international partners to continue monitoring developments concerning GECOM, encourage resolution of the impasse through the Constitution and rule of law, support inclusive electoral and constitutional reform, protect the statutory participation of parliamentary parties, and support efforts to strengthen the independence, transparency, and effectiveness of Guyana’s electoral institutions,” the oppopsition leader’s office said in a briefing note to the regional and international community.

The note was dispatched on Wednesday to the United Nations Secretary General António Guterres, Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretary General Dr Carla Barnett, United States Ambassador Nicole Theriot, British High Commissioner Joseph Fisher, the Canadian High Commissioner and the Carter Center.

Mr Azruddin’s office explained that at the centre of the major dispute is the refusal of the three A Partnership for National Unity (APNU)-associated election commissioners—Vincent Alexander, Charles Corbin and Desmond Trotman—to resign and allow the new main opposition party, with 16 seats, to be represented.

Those commissioners maintain that the constitution does not require them to resign or be removed because the composition of the National Assembly has changed.

The APNU has 12 seats and the Forward Guyana Movement has 1 seat.

GECOM has not met in months and local government elections are slated for this year.

WIN said after receiving legal advice, the parliamentary opposition parties were consulted and lawyers Roysdale Forde, Siand Dhurjon and Damien Da Silva were nominated in a letter to President Irfaan Ali but so far, despite two letters, there has been no substantive response.

A top legal expert in the Guyana government had told Demerara Waves Online News that the only way out to resolving the impasse is to take the matter to court.

Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed earlier this week repeated his months-old position that he would be seeking legal advice with a view to challenging the constitutionality of the existing opposition election commissioners remaining in office.

Now, he said, his We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) party was becoming increasingly impatient with efforts to shut out his party from GECOM.

“We cannot wait much longer because clearly they want to delay the process. They don’t want anyone from WIN to represent WIN…I am in talks right now with my legal team and we will have to move to court because we are not hearing anything,” he said.

In his briefing note, the opposition leader also expressed concern that said although the 2025 general and regional elections changed the political landscape, “some institutional arrangements remain rooted in an older political configuration”, citing that none of the 69 scrutineers being paid by GECOM is from the WIN or the FGM.

The note states that correspondence between the GECOM Chief Executive Officer and the Office of the Leader of the Opposition has raised questions concerning whether the consultation satisfied the statutory requirement of “meaningful consultation” and whether GECOM has authority to determine the adequacy or validity of that process.

The opposition leader’s office says it maintains that GECOM should give effect to appointments properly made and communicated in keeping with the statutory process, rather than substitute its own determination for that of the constitutional office-holder entrusted with the consultation process.

“Scrutineers are an important statutory mechanism through which political parties participate in and oversee the electoral registration process,” Mr Mohamed said.

He said he was bringing those matters to the attention of Guyana’s international partners, diplomatic missions, international organizations, and democratic institutions because of their potential implications for electoral governance.

“We seek international attention to the importance of ensuring that those processes remain inclusive, transparent, lawful, and consistent with democratic principles,” Mr Mohamed said.

The leader of the opposition noted that the United States-based Carter Center, which observed last year’s general and regional elections, has independently recognized the seriousness of the impasse and warned of potential consequences for local government elections and future electoral reform.

“The way forward must therefore be grounded in constitutional compliance, institutional independence, and democratic representation. Guyana’s electoral institutions must be capable of functioning regardless of which political party is in government or opposition, and GECOM must ultimately be trusted by the people of Guyana and all legitimate participants in the democratic process,” Mr Mohamed said.