The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has said that it has already prepared a workplan for the hosting of Local Government Elections (LGE) this year and is awaiting the necessary instructions before rolling out the programme.
LGEs are constitutionally due every two years in Guyana and were last held in June 2023. However, since General and Regional Elections were conducted in September 2025, the local Government polls were deferred to this year.
In a statement on Friday, GECOM confirmed that its Secretariat has prepared and has a comprehensive workplan in place for the conduct of these elections.
“The Workplan identifies the activities and tasks required for the preparation and conduct of the elections,” the electoral body stated.
GECOM was at the time responding to concerns raised by United States (US)-sanctioned and indicted Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed, in a note circulated to members of the international community including the United Nations Secretary-General (UNSG) António Guterres, Caribbean Community (CARICOM) SG Dr Carla Barnett, US Ambassador Nicole Theriot, British High Commissioner Joseph Fisher, the Canadian High Commissioner and the US-based Carter Centre.
In his note to the international community, Mohamed also expressed concerns about the hosting of LGEs, referencing a recent statement from the Carter Centre which had linked the upcoming polls with the current impasse over the Opposition-nominated commissioners at GECOM.
But in response, GECOM explained in Friday’s statement that while the workplan is already in place, the Secretariat cannot independently activate and implement the programme. In fact, it contended that commencement of the electoral programme requires the necessary decision and direction of the seven-member Commission.
The electoral body went onto point out, however, that once activated, the timelines contained in the current workplan may also require adjustment depending on the date of activation and the prevailing operational circumstances.
Nonetheless, GECOM noted that, “The existence of a workplan therefore demonstrates that the Secretariat has undertaken the necessary planning and preparatory work. Its implementation, however, is dependent upon the Commission exercising its statutory functions and providing the requisite direction.”
The Local Government Minister is responsible for setting a date for the local Government elections, after which GECOM takes the necessary actions to conduct these polls.
Monies have already been earmarked in GECOM’s $6.9 billion 2026 budget allocation for the hosting of the local Government polls this year.
Since January, GECOM had commenced preparatory works for LGE with the recruitment of temporary staff.
At the last local Government elections in 2023, the governing People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) had scored a landslide victory, sweeping 66 of the 80 Local Authority Areas (LAAs) across the country.
The then main Opposition, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) had only managed to win 14 LAAs.
This year’s LGE would come about one year after General and Regional Elections were held in Guyana on September 1, 2025 and saw the PPP/C returning to office after securing a 36-seat win in the National Assembly with over 242,000 votes.
Meanwhile, the APNU was ousted as the main parliamentary opposition by the US-sanctioned and indicted Azruddin Mohamed-founded We Invest in Nationhood (WIN), which gained 16 seats. APNU managed to secure only 12 seats, while Forward Guyana Movement (FGM) gained the other remaining parliamentary seat.
On the other hand, APNU’s former coalition partner, the Alliance For Change (AFC), was completely booted from the National Assembly.
