Terrence Campbell, lead parliamentarian for the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) – which lost its position as the main parliamentary opposition – has indicated his party’s intention to hold onto the seats of commissioners at the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).
The three Opposition members of the seven–member GECOM are appointed by the Leader of the Opposition, which was previously held by APNU’s leader Aubrey Norton.
Following the September 1, 2025 General and Regional Elections (GRE), the We Invest in Nationhood (WIN), which is headed by United States (US)-indicted businessman Azruddin Mohamed, won 16 seats – becoming the main parliamentary opposition.
Mohamed was this morning elected as Opposition Leader. APNU, which now occupies 12 seats in the National Assembly, did not participate in the process of electing him. In fact, Campbell led the APNU Members of Parliament (MPs) in a walkout of the elections process which took place at Parliament Buildings.
In a brief interview with media operatives, Campbell was asked if APNU will make provisions for WIN to appoint its members to sit as GECOM Commissioners. In response, Campbell said “that’s a constitutional issue”.
Norton had previously indicated that APNU will not be recalling its members from GECOM. “I don’t know that I want to do that… Because I don’t think it is the best thing for me to do at this stage,” Norton had expressed.
GECOM’s seven-member commission comprises the Chairman, three Government appointed Commissioners and three opposition Commissioners. The appointments are governed by the Constitution (Amendment) Act No. 2 of 2000. The current Opposition–nominated Commissioners are Vincent Alexander, Charles Corbin and Desmond Trotman.
The Government Commissioners are Sase Gunraj, Clement Rohee and Manoj Narayan, who were appointed in 2015, 2020 and 2023 respectively. A new set of Commissioners can be appointed when the Government changes. However, many times the same Commissioners simply switch sides from being Opposition nominated to becoming a Government nominated.
With no fixed terms being stipulated in the Constitution for their appointment, Commissioners usually serve until they resign or otherwise become unable to serve. Alexander has been on the Commissioner since the early 2000s, outlasting Government changes across the 2011, 2015, and 2020 elections. Corbin was also appointed in the early 2000s. Trotman was appointed in 2017 to replace a Commissioner who passed away that year.
Nevertheless, with APNU not willing to step aside, Campbell still expressed hope that the two parties can work together.
“We look forward to working with WIN and hope that there will be improvement in collaboration between us and WIN going forward. It has not been the best road so far…,” Campbell said.
He indicated that APNU’s decision to not participate in the Leader of the Opposition elections process was a “signal” to WIN.
“We took the position not to nominate anyone and we hope they see it as a signal,” Campbell said.
With Budget 2026 to be presented later today, the APNU lead MP admitted that there has been no decision among the parliamentary opposition regarding specific portfolios for each opposition parliamentarians.
“The appointment of shadow ministers is one that is undertaken by the Leader of the Opposition, there have been no discussions in that regard,” he noted.
However, he said APNU MPs are ready to participate in the Budget 2026 debates and examination of the estimates.
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