-Dr. Jagdeo says, urges all parties to embrace a transparent, democratic electoral process

PRESIDENT Dr. Irfaan Ali’s announcement of this year’s General and Regional Elections was “lawful and in order”, People’s Progressive Party (PPP) General Secretary Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo has emphasised, supporting the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM)’s official statement about its readiness.

His comments come as a response to the opposition-nominated GECOM commissioners who are claiming that the body is not ready for this year’s elections.

The General Secretary on Thursday highlighted how baseless these claims were, during his weekly press conference at Freedom House, Robb Street.

While the three opposition commissioners claimed that they were blindsided by the President’s announcement, People’s National Congress/Reform (PNC/R) Leader Aubrey Norton stated that the timing of the polls align with the party’s expectations.

This statement by Norton to another news outlet contradicts his commissioners’ statements.

Dr. Jagdeo has pointed out that the two contradicting views show that the party is not in a state of readiness.

He then pointed out the elections in other states such as Canada and Trinidad and Tobago, which are held a short while after the announcement of the date.

“Why are we so different? It’s the same process you have to go through. We have continuous registration… They would extract a preliminary voters list, hopefully, and then we’ll have a valid list. We’ll go through nomination day, and then you have the election,” he said.

The General Secretary contended that the opposition-nominated commissioners will undertake an obstructionist view of these elections and preparation for it, especially given their history.

Dr. Jagdeo also expressed hope that all political parties will embrace a transparent and democratic electoral process ahead of the September 1, 2025 General and Regional Elections.

He said he is optimistic that “good sense will prevail”, and that the parties, including the main opposition PNC-R and the Alliance For Change (AFC), will participate in a mature and responsible manner.

“If they support democracy, they will support an open, transparent process,” Jagdeo said, pointing out that the government has already invited international observers to monitor the election.

He also used the opportunity to call on the opposition to move away from what he described as a history of unfounded claims and election-related controversies.

He noted that this is an opportunity for the PNCR and AFC to “shake the stigma” of rigged elections associated with them—both historically and during the last general elections in 2020.

Meanwhile, he criticised recent statements by opposition leaders suggesting that Venezuelan migrants would be allowed to vote, calling such claims baseless and irresponsible.

“You remember when the media asked Norton about evidence of Venezuelans registering? He didn’t have a shred of evidence; not even one name,” he said.

He also took aim at AFC leader Nigel Hughes for repeating similar allegations, accusing both parties of resorting to scare tactics rather than facing the electorate with concrete policies.

“These are senseless excuses; they need to grow up,” the General Secretary said.

He added that if the opposition loses in a free and fair election, they should be mature enough to accept the results without undermining the democratic process.

He further stressed that any future collaboration between political parties must be grounded in respect for democracy and inclusive governance.

“I’ve laid out some of the prerequisites,” he said, adding, “One is an acceptance that democracy and respect for the vote for every citizen of this country is crucial. The second is a policy that doesn’t see people by race, but sees them as Guyanese.”