Dear Editor,
In a response to comments made by the Canadian High Commissioner on the final report of the European Union Election Observation Mission, President Irfaan Ali described the September 1st elections as “free and fair, beyond a shadow of doubt,” and that they were conducted “efficiently and reliably.” While the President is entitled to his view, he must appreciate that elections do not become credible merely because a participant proclaims them so.
Notably, the EU carefully avoided using the term “free and fair”, a descriptor which has been replaced by “credible”, when an Elections Observer Mission considers that an election meets basic democratic thresholds. Its report was professionally prepared, evidence based, each finding was supported by tables, graphs and charts based on thorough and objective observations and facts. By contrast, the President offered none. Ali’s own abuse of his office in the pre-election period was egregious and well documented. His party’s misuse of the State media, its apparatus and resources meticulously documented in the EU’s report, was evident to all.
President Ali had no reservations when the EU Mission issued almost identical recommendations in 2020 – very, very few of which have been implemented. It is worth noting too, that despite being a constitutional body, GECOM is not subject to a dedicated financial or performance audit. This is an extraordinary omission for an institution that now absorbs billions annually and is dormant for the greatest part of five years.
It is equally difficult to reconcile claims of “efficiency” with an electoral system that is, by every measurable standard, the most expensive per voter in the world. Guyana continues to spend unprecedented sums to maintain an oversized electoral machinery, yet many of the structural weaknesses identified by both international and domestic observers after each elections remain uncorrected.
GECOM has unilaterally concluded that statutory provisions on election-expense reporting have “fallen into disuse.” In other words, GECOM, which should carry out the law, casually ignores and disregards it.
The voters’ list remains inflated by the names of persons long deceased, even as the law provides for continuous cleansing. The constitutional and statutory requirements regarding Commonwealth citizens have, by GECOM’s own admission, been wrongly applied, with the result that ineligible persons voted in the elections.
The WIN party, which had previously donated tens of millions of dollars to Ali’s PPP/C, encountered hindrances to their participation in the 2025 elections, once it became clear that it posed the greatest threat to the PPP/C.
These are not markers of efficiency or credibility. They mark institutional drift, weak compliance with the law, and a tolerance for practices that heighten cost and undermine democracy. Public confidence is earned not through political declarations but through transparency, accountability, and the consistent application of the law.
The EU Mission’s report offers no endorsement of credibility, let alone free and fair. Its silence speaks louder than any political rhetoric or reassurance.