THE ALLIANCE FOR CHANGE MEETS WITH THE COMMONWEALTH OBSERVER MISSION

The Alliance For Change (AFC) recently met with representatives of the Commonwealth Observer Mission who are on a pre-election assessment as Guyana gears for Regional and General Elections 2025. The AFC delegation was led by David Patterson, Chairman of the party whilst the Commonwealth team was led by the Adviser and Head of The Commonwealth Electoral Support Section, Linford Andrews.

The Alliance For Change which will be contesting the 2025 General and Regional Elections independently, welcomed the presence of the assessment team and expressed its expectation that the observer mission would be in place and observing a few days prior to E-Day and a few days after.

The AFC presented its long-standing concerns including, that the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) failed to act over the last four years with regards to implementing many of the crucial recommendations made by the international observer groups following the 2020 election.  Current concerns raised included GECOM’s refusal to address the extremely large voter’s list, their lack of commitment in considering biometrics at the place of poll, and their unresponsive approach to many of the written queries from the Alliance For Change in recent times. In addition, concerns in relation to the current structure of the Commission that limits the independence of Gecom were all highlighted. The AFC also took the opportunity to share with the Commonwealth Mission, its concerns that a sitting Minister of Government and senior executive of the PPP serves as the Legal Advisor to Gecom. The Alliance For Change maintains that GECOM appears unprepared to hold free, fair and transparent elections and have done little to raise the level of confidence of the public in their systems.