–Gunraj says GECOM must, will be ready to hold elections on date announced by President Ali
–PNCR commissioners walk out of meeting set to review new work-plan
PEOPLE’S Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C)-nominated Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Commissioner, Sase Gunraj, has said that the Commission must and will be ready to hold General and Regional Elections on the date set by President, Dr Irfaan Ali.
Gunraj made these remarks on Tuesday while addressing members of the media prior to a meeting of the commissioners following President Ali’s announcement that General and Regional Elections will be held on September 1, 2025.
The Commissioner told members of the press that Tuesday’s meeting was the first since that announcement, and that they had all received a work plan from the Chief Elections Officer, Vishnu Persaud earlier in the day and were set to discuss same.
The plan, he added, was to discuss the plan with a view to approving and executing it in keeping with the date set by the President.
While noting that he would not be able to speak for the GECOM Chairman, retired Judge Justice Claudette Singh, and what formed the basis of her advice, he added that the constitution provides for elections to be held in three months or 90 days and the timeframe set by the president is in excess of those 90 days.
To this end, Gunraj told the press, “As a consequence, I believe that GECOM will and must be ready to hold elections on that date set by the President.”
Further, for the avoidance of doubt, he added that the date for setting of elections is the President’s prerogative and no one else’s.
With this, he indicated that he does not foresee any issues with the timeframe set by the Head of State.
“It’s no secret that elections are due in 2025. I believe this country and even the wider world expect elections to be held. So, you have long read in the media, etc…, that GECOM has started preparation, there are several fundamental aspects of that process that have already been executed, so it is just a matter of continuation of that to finality,” the Commissioner added.
When asked about issues that have been pushed by commissioners nominated by the Opposition like the ‘cleansing’ of the voters list among other things, he noted that those issues have already been discussed and resolved, as there is a system for cleansing of the list and removal of dead persons; this is ongoing.
However, he noted that he expects that some of these same resolved issues and old happenings will resurface as an excuse to attempt to derail the process.
Meanwhile, as Tuesday’s meeting got underway, the PNC-appointed commissioners, Vincent Alexander, Charles Corbin, and Desmond Trotman, staged a walkout.
Earlier in the day, those commissioners had held a press conference during which they noted that while they recognise it is the President’s prerogative to determine the election date, they claim it is not within the recommended timeframe.
