Proposal to Allow Prisoners to Vote in 2025 Elections Sparks Division at GECOM
by Travis Chase | HGP Nightly News
A proposal by opposition-nominated commissioner Vincent Alexander to allow incarcerated persons to vote in Guyana’s upcoming September 1, 2025, General and Regional Elections has sparked heated debate within the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).
Alexander, referencing Article 159 of Guyana’s Constitution, argued that there is no legal basis for denying voting rights to prisoners—except those declared insane or convicted of electoral offenses.
“We don’t agree that the law forbids speaking with prisoners. There are many committees that interact with them already,” Alexander said during a post-meeting briefing.
Alexander cited Article 159(2), which outlines voter eligibility for Guyanese citizens 18 years and older. He said incarcerated persons not convicted of electoral offenses or declared insane still have the right to vote.
He contends that a voters’ list for prisoners could be compiled similarly to that of the discipline services and that the process would not require direct interaction with inmates.
However, government-nominated Commissioner Sase Gunraj pushed back, saying that prisoners are governed by specific legislation and that no legal mechanism currently exists to enable their voting.
“You can’t just say you’re going to put a polling station in a prison,” Gunraj noted.
“Special legislation exists for the disciplined services to vote early, but there’s no such law for prisoners.”
He emphasized that GECOM must be guided by existing legislation and cannot arbitrarily facilitate inmate voting without parliamentary approval.
Despite the disagreement, both sides have agreed to revisit the issue at GECOM’s next statutory meeting. The matter remains contentious, particularly as it touches on broader themes of electoral inclusion, prisoner rights, and constitutional interpretation.
While Guyana has no precedent for prison-based voting, several international democracies have begun to reconsider such exclusions. If passed, this move could mark a historic change in Guyana’s electoral landscape.
