–GECOM’s CEO affirms; DECO highlights over 700,000 persons registered to vote across Guyana

WITH just under two weeks to go before Guyanese head to the polls, Chief Elections Officer (CEO) Vishnu Persaud has declared that the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) is fully prepared for the September 1, 2025 General and Regional Elections.

Speaking at the Commission’s first press conference on Monday, Persaud sought to assure voters and political stakeholders that robust safeguards are in place to guarantee the credibility of the electoral process, emphasising that it is “virtually impossible” for anyone to cast more than one ballot, except in cases of collusion at polling places.
He noted, however, that the safeguards are stringent enough to detect and deter attempts at impersonation or repeat voting.
Persaud referenced the mandatory ink-marking of voters’ fingers after they cast their ballots.

According to him, the ink, specially formulated for durability, cannot be removed without applying substances before voting; an unlikely scenario given the rigorous procedures.
He emphasised that election officials have also been instructed to ensure that voters’ fingers are clean before the ink is applied, and that it is allowed to dry properly to minimise tampering.
“I recognise there was a comment about the potency of the ink. The manufacturers and suppliers have given assurance that it is not possible to remove the ink easily unless something was deliberately applied to the finger beforehand,” Persaud said.

He outlined further safeguards in detail, including the requirement to present a valid identification card before receiving a ballot.
Persaud said that polling staff and party agents are equipped with folios containing the photograph of each elector assigned to that polling station. This system, he emphasised, makes impersonation extremely difficult.

Deputy CEO Aneal Giddings said that the official list of electors (OLE) contains 757,690 registered voters across all 10 electoral districts.
These voters are distributed across the ten electoral districts as follows: District One (Barima-Waini) has 24,453 registered voters, while District Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) accounts for 42,596 voters.

In District Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara), there are 116,876 registered voters, and District Four (Demerara-Mahaica), the most populated district, has 323,436 voters. Moving further along the coast, District Five (Mahaica-Berbice) records 50,796 registered voters, while District Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) has 111,554 voters. In the interior regions, District Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) has 17,846 voters, and District Eight (Potaro-Siparuni) accounts for 9,192 voters. The figures for District Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) were not provided in the data, but District 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) has 38,460 registered voters.

Together, these numbers confirm the national total of 757,690 electors, who will be served by 2,790 polling stations across the country on Election Day. Out of these, 62 are designated to private residences.

District One has 113 polling stations, while District Two has 158. District Three is allocated 407 polling stations, and District Four has the largest number, 1,018 stations.
District Five has 193 polling stations, and District Six has 435. The interior regions have fewer polling stations, with District Seven at 99, District Eight at 58, and District Nine at 91. District 10 is assigned 148 polling stations.

Giddings underscored that the Commission has not issued any certificates of employment, meaning voters are expected to cast their votes only at their designated polling stations.
He also confirmed that 3,972 applications for proxy voting were received and processed according to law. Proxy voting means having someone else cast your vote for you. The deputy CEO said that 92 ballots were prepared for dispatch to 20 foreign missions abroad, and all have since been sent.

These include the consulate in Barbados; the embassy in Brussels, Belgium; the embassy in Brasilia, Brazil; the consulate in Toronto, Canada; and the High Commission in Ottawa, Canada.
They also include the embassy in Beijing, China; the mission in Havana, Cuba; the High Commission in New Delhi, India; the embassy in Kuwait and in Doha, Qatar; the High Commission in Pretoria, South Africa; the consulate in Nigeria; and the embassy in Paramaribo and the consulate in Suriname.

The list is rounded out by the permanent missions to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, and New York, USA; the consulate in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago; the High Commission in London, United Kingdom; the consulate in New York, USA; the embassy in Washington, DC; and the embassy in Caracas, Venezuela.

Meanwhile, GECOM announced that its media center will operate around the clock to provide timely updates on election day and the subsequent vote count.
This is part of the Commission’s broader effort to maintain transparency and public confidence in the conduct of the polls. Persaud affirmed that GECOM is fully prepared to conduct free, fair, and credible elections.
“Operationally, we are solidly ready,” he stated.