The Rule of Law Must Prevail: Addressing the Unlawful Participation of Foreign Nationals in Guyana’s September 2025 Elections

By Roysdale Forde S.C-he sanctity of the electoral process in any democratic polity is predicated upon two immutable pillars: the lawful registration of electors and the legitimate exercise of the franchise by duly qualified citizens. In the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, this imperative is not merely aspirational or discretionary; it constitutes a peremptory constitutional obligation, inextricably woven into the foundational framework of our republican order.

As eloquently articulated by M. C. Setalvad, the former Attorney-General of India and President of the Indian Commission of Jurists, in the proceedings of the International Commission of Jurists: “It is axiomatic that the rights and dignity of the individual… can only be achieved and subsist under governmental systems which function with free elections and where laws are enacted by the duly elected representatives of the people.” This principle resonates profoundly in the present context, where I must express profound constitutional disquiet over a series of egregious irregularities that compromised the integrity of the national elections conducted in September 2025. Credible eyewitness testimonies and substantiated reports reveal that convoys of foreign nationals, predominantly of Bangladeshi and Indian origin, ostensibly engaged under questionable contractual arrangements, were systematically transported to polling stations nationwide. These persons, many lacking any demonstrable historical, cultural, or legal nexus to Guyana, were equipped with National Identification Cards and permitted to cast ballots in flagrant disregard of established legal norms.

Of particular consternation is the notation under the “Nationality” field on these identification documents, wherein “Commonwealth” was inscribed in substitution for “Guyanese.” Such a designation is not only factually inaccurate but constitutionally ultra vires and legally nugatory. Article 159 of the Constitution of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, in conjunction with the Representation of the People Act (Cap. 1:03), unequivocally stipulates that the electoral franchise is reserved exclusively for Guyanese citizens or those lawfully resident and registered pursuant to stringent statutory criteria. No provision within our corpus juris extends voting rights to foreign nationals predicated solely upon Commonwealth affiliation, nor does any electoral enactment sanction the issuance of identification cards to non-citizens under such an amorphous rubric.

It must be emphatically declared that any registration premised upon mere Commonwealth status, absent proper naturalization or constitutional qualification, is void ab initio—a brazen subversion of the rule of law and a deliberate assault upon the sanctity of our electoral apparatus.

Moreover, the orchestrated logistics of their conveyance and facilitation at polling venues inexorably compel the inference of a premeditated and concerted scheme to subvert the electoral outcome. This transcends mere administrative lapses; it poses an existential peril to the democratic entitlements of the Guyanese populace and the legitimacy of our constitutional edifice.

The Chief Elections Officer, the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), and all constitutional functionaries entrusted with safeguarding free and fair elections are imperatively obligated to undertake a prompt, transparent, and impartial inquiry into these assertions. Should the allegations be corroborated—as mounting evidence portends—the electoral results would be irreparably vitiated by illegality, rendering them amenable to judicial invalidation.

Elections are not perfunctory ceremonies; they embody the paramount manifestation of popular sovereignty. To countenance their infiltration and adulteration by non-citizens via illicit registration is to abjure the foundational legitimacy of our democratic paradigm.

Accordingly, I hereby exhort:

The Commissioner of Police to commence forthwith an investigation into the orchestration and abetment of the transportation and electoral participation of these foreign nationals.

GECOM to furnish a comprehensive disclosure of all registrants categorized under the “Commonwealth” designation, accompanied by an explication of the purported legal foundation therefor.

The Ministry of Home Affairs and Immigration to render a complete accounting of the immigration status of these individuals, including the modalities under which their residency and employment in Guyana were authorized.

The Judiciary, upon appropriate petition, to accord scrupulous scrutiny to the constitutional propriety of the electoral proceedings, cognizant of these substantive infirmities.

It is no hyperbole to assert that the perdurance of Guyana’s democratic ethos pivots upon the resolute and juridically sound adjudication of this exigency. The Constitution is not an instrument of expediency but the paramount law of the realm. It is to this supreme charter, rather than transient conveniences, that we must recourse for remediation and vindication.

Let us reinvigorate public confidence in our democratic institutions. Let us vindicate the rule of law. Let us safeguard the inalienable prerogative of Guyanese citizens to elect their governance, unimpeded by illicit interposition and extraneous encroachment.