Assembly for Liberty and Prosperity (ALP) leader and former government minister Simona Broomes has dismissed the escalating dispute over opposition-nominated commissioners at the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) as a “sideshow,” arguing that changing commissioners will do little to address deeper flaws in the country’s electoral system.
Her comments come as Forward Guyana Movement (FGM) leader and the opposition’s lone parliamentarian, Amanza Walton-Desir, is scheduled to meet today, June 23, with Leader of the Opposition and We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) leader Azruddin Mohamed as consultations continue over nominees for opposition representation on the elections body.
Walton-Desir has proposed FGM prime ministerial candidate Nigel London as an opposition commissioner, while Mohamed has advanced three names for consideration: Senior Counsel Roysdale Forde and attorneys-at-law Siand Dhurjon and Damien Da Silva.
The discussions form part of a wider controversy sparked by Mohamed’s push to reconstitute the opposition side of GECOM, arguing that the commission should reflect the current parliamentary opposition following the 2025 General and Regional Elections.
But Broomes contends that the national debate is focused on the wrong issue.
“The appointment and replacement of GECOM Commissioners is a constitutional process, and political parties are entitled to pursue what they believe is in their interest,” she said in a social media post.
“But we must be honest with the Guyanese people: focusing on three commissioners is a sideshow. Swapping names will not fix a system many citizens no longer trust.”
Broomes argued that the central challenge facing Guyana’s electoral system is not the individuals serving on the commission, but the framework governing elections.
“The real issue is the rules and safeguards that govern elections. Until those are changed, every round of ‘reform’ will be noise—talk that changes nothing,” she stated.
Referencing concerns raised during and after the contentious 2020 General and Regional Elections and national recount, Broomes said longstanding questions surrounding the voters’ list, the inclusion of deceased and migrated persons on the register, and deficiencies in verification and accountability remain unresolved.
“The 2020 elections and recount exposed serious weaknesses: questions about the voters’ list, deceased and migrated persons remaining on the register, and failures in verification, transparency, and accountability. Those problems are structural, not personal,” she said.
She renewed calls for biometric voter verification and broader constitutional reforms, insisting that public confidence in elections cannot be restored through changes to GECOM’s membership alone.
“If Guyana is to have truly democratic change through the ballot box, we need a voting system that is beyond dispute. That starts with biometric voter verification and enforceable measures that guarantee clean lists, secure voting, and credible results.”
“Without constitutional reform no reshuffling at GECOM will restore public confidence. So let’s stop pretending the composition of the Commission is the solution. The national focus must be on fixing the system itself—so elections are trusted, outcomes are accepted, and the people, not the process, decide who governs.”
Constitutional Clash
The commissioner issue has exposed growing divisions within the opposition.
Mohamed recently invited opposition stakeholders to submit names for consideration as he seeks to determine nominees for the opposition side of GECOM. His move has been challenged by People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) Leader and A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Chairman Aubrey Norton, who has declined to participate in the consultation process.
Norton maintains that no vacancies currently exist among the opposition-nominated commissioners and argues that the Constitution does not provide for their removal simply because of a change in the parliamentary opposition.
His position has generated mixed reactions, with some supporting the view that commissioners enjoy constitutional security of tenure, while others contend that opposition representation on the commission should reflect the country’s current political realities.
GECOM Chairperson, retired Justice Claudette Singh, has previously stated that she has no authority to remove opposition-nominated commissioners and that any change in the commission’s composition must occur through constitutional and legal processes.
At the same time, Singh has emphasised the importance of ensuring that GECOM is properly constituted and has said the commission has been awaiting the submission of nominees from the Opposition Leader to address outstanding vacancies and advance its work.
The outcome of today’s meeting between Walton-Desir and Mohamed is expected to provide a clearer indication of whether opposition parties can find common ground on representation at GECOM. However, with Norton rejecting the consultation process and maintaining that no vacancies exist, any attempt to alter the opposition side of the commission could trigger a prolonged constitutional and political battle.
Amid that uncertainty, Broomes is urging political actors not to lose sight of what she believes is the larger issue. While parties continue to debate who should sit on the commission, she argues that public confidence in elections will remain fragile unless longstanding concerns about voter verification, the voters’ list, transparency and electoral safeguards are addressed. In her view, the composition of GECOM is secondary to the broader task of reforming the electoral system to ensure that future election results are accepted by all sides and trusted by the electorate.
