Citing recent concerns from The Carter Center over the current impasse at the Guyana Elections Commission, the Leader of the Opposition, Azruddin Mohamed has penned another letter to President Irfaan Ali requesting the appointment of his three nominees to the Guyana Elections Commission.

Mohamed wants his three private Attorneys, Roysdale Forde, Siand Dhurjon and Damien Da Silva, to be appointed as Opposition nominated members of the Elections Commission although three Commissioners appointed by previous Opposition Leaders have not resigned and remain in place at GECOM.

“Having fulfilled my Constitutional obligations, I respectfully request that Your Excellency give urgent consideration to the appointments and advise this Office of the course of action you intend to take,” the Opposition Leader wrote.

The Opposition Leader had previously written the President on the issue, explaining that he had concluded the process of consulting the Parliamentary opposition on the issue, but got no response.

The opposition APNU has stated that there is no vacancy on the Guyana Elections Commission as all of the appointed members remain in place.

In an interview with reporters on Tuesday, Mr. Mohamed said the President has not responded to any of his correspondences on the issue.

“We have to ensure that our Commissioners are there. Ms Claudette Singh, she mentioned that we should submit the names, we did submit the names, I wrote the president, and we are not hearing anything on those. Just when it is convenient for this Government, then they want to consult with the Opposition Leader,” the Opposition Leader said.

Mohamed’s latest letter to the president was submitted days after The Carter Center recently expressed concern about the current situation at the Guyana Elections Commission.

In its statement, The Carter Center pointed to the need to amend the Constitutional Reform Act (2022) to reflect the current configuration of Parliamentary political parties, while noting its concerns about the ongoing impasse at the Elections Commission.

In his letter to the President, the Opposition Leader said in light of the statements by the Carter Center, he believes it is necessary to revisit the Constitutional appointments.

Mr. Mohamed told the President that with the current impasse, GECOM will be unable to facilitate Local Government Elections within the statutory time frame, and would be in no position to implement reforms necessary to strengthen Guyana’s electoral processes before the next General and Regional Elections.

Although there is a full Guyana Elections Commission in place, the Chairman of the Elections Commission, retired Justice Claudette Singh, has not called a meeting of the Commission in almost a year.

Mr. Mohamed said the country’s “democratic institutions must evolve to reflect the will of the electorate as expressed through free and fair elections.”

“The continued absence of a response leaves unresolved a matter of significant constitutional importance and contributes to uncertainty regarding the governance and effective functioning of the Guyana Elections Commission at a time when important statutory and electoral responsibilities must be discharged,” the Opposition Leader said.

The Opposition Leader indicated that he is in the process of writing the international community on the matter, and should the President fail to act, he would be left with no other option than to move to the Court.

“Well I am in talks right now with my legal team, and we will have to move to court because we are not hearing anything….We are in the processing of writing the international community, and if we not hearing anything positive, then we will move to court,” he said.

The 2025 General Elections saw the WIN party emerging as the main Opposition party in parliament, displacing the APNU from that post.

With the new make up of the National Assembly, the Opposition Leader wants the three current GECOM Commissioners who were nominated by previous Opposition Leaders to step down and allow him to appoint new Commissioners, naming his three Attorneys for the post.

The Commissioners, Vincent Alexander, Charles Corbin and Desmond Trotman, have stated that while they were nominated by previous Opposition Leaders, once they were appointed, they became full members of the Constitutional commission, and there is nothing in law that forces them out with a change of the political landscape after elections.

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