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Georgetown, Guyana (Credible Sources) — The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) issued a statement on December 17, 2024, responding to claims it says were made by Alliance for Change (AFC) leaders, Nigel Hughes and David Patterson, regarding GECOM’s refusal to meet with the party. GECOM refuted the allegations, providing its account of the correspondence exchanged and the delays attributed to the AFC itself.
According to GECOM, the AFC initially wrote a letter on September 9, 2024, addressed to Chief Election Officer (CEO) Vishnu Persaud, requesting a meeting to discuss “GECOM’s preparations for future elections and electoral integrity.” However, the CEO responded on September 11, 2024, clarifying that arranging such meetings is beyond his authority and advising the AFC to address their request to GECOM’s Chairman, Justice (Ret’d) Claudette Singh.
Taking proactive steps, the GECOM Chairman followed up with the AFC on September 23, 2024, proposing two potential meeting dates—October 8 or October 22, 2024. The AFC, however, did not respond until October 17, 2024, citing delays caused by overseas travel of their leadership. Justice Singh replied promptly on October 18, 2024, requesting that the AFC provide a list of issues they wished to discuss so a new meeting date could be arranged.
The AFC subsequently submitted their list of concerns on November 11, 2024, which included topics such as the introduction of biometrics for elections, party scrutineers voting alongside the Disciplined Forces, and purging the electoral list of deceased or absent persons. GECOM stated that due to pressing internal matters, a response was issued on November 27, 2024, inviting the AFC to meet on December 3, 2024. To date, GECOM noted, no response has been received from the AFC.
As a result, GECOM says the AFC’s claims regarding GECOM’s refusal to meet were inaccurate, and the issues listed for discussion by the AFC bore no relevance to their stated intent of conducting a review of the 2020 General and Regional Elections. The Commission condemned what it described as “disinformation” and urged political leaders to engage in fact-based, responsible discourse.
The Commission reaffirmed its commitment to maintaining public confidence and urged political stakeholders to rely on verified facts in discussions, particularly in the lead-up to the 2025 General and Regional Elections.
