GECOM “fully prepared” for Monday’s elections; results to be known by Sept. 3

The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) says it is fully prepared for the holding of General and Regional Elections on Monday, September 1, 2025.

At a press conference hours less than 24 hours before polls open, Chief Elections Officer Vishnu Persaud said on Sunday, “We, at this time, are fully prepared to conduct the General and Regional Elections tomorrow… We, at the level of the [Election] Secretariat…reaffirm our commitment to deliver free, fair and credible elections.” 

According to the CEO, this position was bolstered by feedback received from the Returning Officers (Officers), as of recent as today, that “everything is in place for the conduct of these elections.”

Ballot boxes and other sensitive materials have already been transported to the 10 districts across the country and will be distributed with inadequate time ahead of the opening of the poll at 6 a.m or 06:00h on Monday morning. 

Persaud explained that materials for polling stations that are located in some riverine and remote hinterland areas have been dispatched to ensure they are fully equipped for the timely opening of the poll.

There are 757,690 registered voters across the 10 Administrative Regions (Districts) who are listed to vote at some 2,790 polling stations across the country. 

Six political parties will be contesting the elections, including the incumbent People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), A Partnership For National Unity (APNU), Alliance For Change (AFC), and We Invest In Nationhood (WIN) – all of which are contesting all 10 regions.

The Forward Guyana Movement (FGM) party is contesting seven of the 10 regions, while the Assembly for Liberty and Prosperity (ALP) party is contesting six regions.

GECOM has employed a total of 11,718 staff in varying positions and roles to ensure the smooth conduct of the elections. 

According to the CEO, “These staff have been trained to ensure consistency, transparency and professionalism throughout the implementation of their respective tasks.”

Meanwhile, the Guyana Police Force (GPF) will deploy approximately 8,700 officers to maintain order during the electoral process on election day and the days afterwards. 

The transparency and credibility of the election process will be further enhanced as some 500 local observers and about 200 international observers will be monitoring the activities.  

CEO Persaud explained on Sunday that, practically, results from each district/region can be expected by the evening of September 3 – one day later than he had previously indicated.

This timeline, Persaud pointed out today, takes into account the extensive tabulation process and the time it would take to upload the Statement of Polls (SoP) from each of the polling stations in the various districts. 

He added that arrangements have been put in place to ensure every polling station is adequately equipped and powered to allow for a smooth flow of these processes.

According to the CEO, once the results are declared in each district by the evening of September 3, and barring there are no major delays or Requests for Recounts from any of the contesting political parties, national results could be declared by GECOM the following morning.