—‘victim’ comes forward to prove he is alive, not dead

AFTER falsely posting that a dead man’s name is on Guyana’s voters’ list, U.S.-based social media commentator Melissa “Melly Mel” Atwell is facing backlash for fuelling election disinformation.

The man is alive and personally refuted the allegation on the Guyanese Critic show on Thursday morning.

Atwell, who regularly criticises the incumbent government, posted the man’s personal details online while alleging that the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) administration intends to use the names of thousands of dead voters, alongside proxy voting, to rig the upcoming elections.

Atwell’s allegation is frequently repeated by the opposition, though it has been debunked on numerous occasions.

She has quietly removed the snippet of the false claim from her Facebook post.

Notably, in a pre-election statement, the Carter Center spoke of Guyana heading into this new election cycle with a reformed legal and electoral framework, which is aimed at improving transparency in the vote tabulation process and modernising voter registration.

The statement highlighted that Guyana’s legal and electoral framework has undergone important reform since the country’s last elections in 2020, particularly in the areas of tabulation and voter registration.

Further, the Carter Center said the most substantial changes include subdistrict tabulation in select regions; new requirements for simultaneous electronic public posting and transmission of polling station results; obligations of presiding officers to ensure transparency during the closing and counting procedures; designated cycles for continuous registration; the end of “house-to-house” registration; and updated requirements for removal of the deceased from the voter list.

“In addition, these changes to the legal framework are not well understood by Guyana’s civil society and some opposition political parties,” the observers mission noted.

Further, amendments to the Representation of the People’s Act have paved the way for tabulation to now take place at 17 locations across Guyana’s 10 electoral districts.

Also, sub-district returning officers will oversee the process in Regions Three, Four, and Six, where most of the electorate resides.

The amendments provide for the immediate online publication of Statements of Poll (SoPs) and tabulation forms, and the electronic display of each SoP during the tabulation process, the statement further outlined.
The amendments reinforce the rights of party agents to observe all stages of the process and outlined severe penalties for violations, including non-compliance with the new provisions, such as failing to publish information, delivering false information, not providing certified copies to superiors, or obstructing party agents.

“While these changes could provide greater transparency, The 2025 Official List of Electors (OLE), certified on July 29, contains 757,690 names- 376,703 men and 380,987 women.
The Carter Center further stated: “While the relative size of the OLE raises concerns for many Guyanese, The Carter Center has not received evidence of inflation of the voter roll.”