Opposition Candidates Slam GECOM Over Ballot Discrepancies, Electoral Lapses

As Guyana edges closer to the September 1 General and Regional Elections, opposition candidates Nigel Hughes and Roysdale Forde have raised serious concerns over the Guyana Elections Commission’s (GECOM) management of the electoral process—accusing the body of endangering the integrity of the vote and failing the people it is meant to serve.

Alliance For Change (AFC) presidential candidate and Attorney-at-Law Nigel Hughes sounded the alarm  Sunday over  discrepancies in ballots cast by members of the Disciplined Services. On Friday, August 22, GECOM dispatched ballots to police, army, fire and prison service stations, with the expectation that a list of voters would accompany the returned ballots to prepare for the intermix with civilian ballots on Election Day.

Hughes revealed that within 24 hours, “discrepancies were detected in the number of envelopes for Regions 4, 5 and 10. The list of electors who voted and number of envelopes differ.”

The AFC presidential candidate also noted that for “Region 4 the manual count had two more envelopes /ballots than the spread sheet. Regions 5 and 10 disclosed that the manual count was one less envelope/ ballot than the spread sheet generated by GECOM IT [Information Technology centre].”

He warned that even a single ballot sent to the wrong region could distort the final results, potentially shifting both geographical and regional seat allocations.

“We call on GECOM to consult with knowledgeable persons to resolve this issue,” Hughes said. “GECOM MUST GET IT RIGHT ALL THE TIME.”

Meanwhile, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) candidate, and Senior Counsel Roysdale Forde launched a blistering critique of GECOM in a sharply worded op-ed, accusing the Commission of silence in the face of two “brazen attacks on the very foundation of our republic.”

Forde cited two recent incidents that he believes threaten public confidence in the electoral process:

1. A ballot box transport accident: A convoy carrying ballots from Region 6 collided with another vehicle on the East Coast Demerara, despite being under police escort. Forde slammed the incident as “gross incompetence” and asked, “How could a police-escorted convoy, entrusted with this hallowed cargo, be so recklessly mismanaged as to crash?”

   GECOM later confirmed that the boxes were received intact, but Forde demanded more: “Were they sealed and secured, or left vulnerable to tampering? Was the chain of custody compromised?”

2. A photographed vote by a uniformed officer: Forde condemned an incident in which an officer took a photo of his completed ballot—a direct violation of electoral law and the secrecy of the vote. “This is not a mere lapse in judgment,” he wrote, “it is a deliberate assault on the sanctity of the democratic process.”

Forde said these are not isolated incidents but indicators of a deeper democratic crisis. “Guyana teeters on the brink of a democratic abyss,” he wrote. “The silence from GECOM is not just a failure of communication; it is a failure of leadership.”

Both candidates are calling for immediate transparency, accountability, and public reassurances from GECOM that electoral standards will be upheld as the country heads to the polls.

“The Guyanese people deserve to know that their votes are safe, that their voices will be heard, and that violations, no matter how seemingly small, will be met with swift and uncompromising accountability,” Forde declared.