The Forward Guyana Movement (FGM) is calling on the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to provide full disclosure on the registration and participation of Commonwealth citizens in the 2025 General and Regional Elections.
In a formal letter to GECOM Chairperson, Justice (Ret’d) Claudette Singh, FGM Leader Amanza Walton-Desir requested a detailed breakdown of all registered Commonwealth voters, including their countries of origin and how many actually voted. The letter also seeks the legal basis for their inclusion on the voters’ list and copies of any internal guidelines that governed the registration and voting process.
“The integrity of our electoral system depends on clarity, transparency, and accountability,” Walton-Desir stated. “Guyanese citizens must be assured that their democratic will is not frustrated or diluted by the participation of foreign nationals.”
The party has asked GECOM to respond within 14 days or provide a written explanation if it is unable to fully comply. The correspondence has also been shared with GECOM Commissioners and international observer bodies, including the European Union, Commonwealth Secretariat, Organisation of American States (OAS,) Carter Center, and CARICOM.
FGM’s move comes amid heightened public scrutiny over electoral transparency and concerns about the fairness of the 2025 elections.
On September 3, 2025, a coalition of 12 prominent civil society bodies released a joint statement demanding an investigation into what they called a breach of the Constitution by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) over the registration and participation of Commonwealth citizens in the elections. They accused GECOM of ignoring the constitutional requirement that electors must be “domiciled”—meaning permanent residents—in Guyana.
The organisations pointed out that while the law allows Commonwealth citizens who are resident and domiciled to vote, GECOM appeared to have treated mere residency (living in Guyana for a year) as sufficient in many cases—thus neglecting the domicile requirement. They cited Article 59:
“Subject to the provisions of article 159, every person may vote at an election if he or she is of the age eighteen years or upwards and is either a citizen of Guyana or a Commonwealth citizen domiciled and resident in Guyana.”
They also stressed Article 159(b) which clarifies that a Commonwealth citizen who is not a citizen of Guyana must be domiciled and resident for at least one year before the qualifying date.
The organisation list includes the Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA), Guyana Trade Union Congress (GTUC), Red Thread, the Guyana Organization of Indigenous Peoples (GOIP), Policy Forum Guyana, Access to Information Group, Amerindian Peoples Association (APA), General Workers Union (GWU), East Coast Clean-up Committee, Transparency Institute Guyana Inc. (TIGI), Guyana Society for the Blind, and SASOD Guyana.
They demanded that GECOM clarify the criteria used for voter eligibility, publish data and documentation regarding Commonwealth voter registration, and explain how “domicile” (as defined in the Constitution) has been assessed and enforced.
