President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali has made it clear that his government is ready to hold Local Government Elections (LGE); however, the opposition must first resolve its internal issues.
Speaking to journalists at his Shiv Chanderpaul Drive office in Georgetown on Friday, President Ali said several matters related to the local elections are beyond the government’s control, adding that the opposition must decide how to proceed and communicate its position to the public and the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).
“The courts are there for a purpose and if any stakeholder believes that they need something to be…analysed or adjudicated upon…they [can] use the arm of…the judiciary. I can say to you, as a government, we are ready,” the president stated.
He described renewal of leadership as key to the democratic framework, noting that the PPP/C has contested every constituency in past local government elections and has consistently outperformed other contenders.
At the last polls on June 12 2023, the PPP/C won 66 of the 80 local authority areas, while A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) secured 14.
Budget 2026 contains $6.9 billion for GECOM to do its administrative groundwork. However, the election body has not held formal meetings since September 2025 because of a dispute over its political composition.
The We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) emerged as the main opposition party in the September 2025 General and Regional Elections, but the three opposition-nominated seats on the commission are still held by commissioners appointed under the previous opposition leadership
“Those [issues] have to be settled, and that has nothing to do with the government,” President Ali made clear when questioned by the media.
President Ali also pointed to the opposition’s past, when it was made up of three parties: the Working People’s Alliance (WPA), the Alliance For Change (AFC) and the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR).
He said it is not the first time the opposition has had to settle differences among several factions. DPI
