By: Marvin Cato | HGP Nightly News |
Forward Guyana Movement (FGM) Leader Amanza Walton-Desir has sharply criticized the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), declaring that Guyana’s electoral system—not its people—is broken. She insists that true reform is needed to restore public trust and credibility in the country’s electoral process.
In a press release issued Wednesday, Walton-Desir asserted that the ongoing impasse at GECOM is not about personalities but about a deeply politicized and outdated structure.
“The real problem is that GECOM was never designed to function as an impartial, professional institution serving all of Guyana,” she said.
The FGM leader emphasized that Guyana’s political reality has evolved beyond the two-party framework, as reflected in the composition of the 13th Parliament, which includes three opposition parties. However, she argued that GECOM’s current design locks the system into old divides, eroding its fairness, credibility, and independence.
“The current structure at GECOM was meant to be a temporary intervention,” Walton-Desir noted. “It is designed to fail whenever political actors disagree, because its functioning depends on political consensus—not professional independence.”
She described the Commission’s current dysfunction as the “inevitable breakdown of a system built on political control rather than institutional independence,” warning that the country cannot build democracy on a broken foundation.
Legal commentators have echoed some of Walton-Desir’s concerns, pointing out that the framers of the Constitution never intended for commissioners to have lifetime appointments. They have called for term limits and clearer constitutional clauses to modernize the institution’s structure.
Political observers are also urging the 29 opposition parliamentarians to collaborate to craft a workable, unified reform plan, rather than resort to further legal battles.
Walton-Desir’s remarks come amid heightened national debate over GECOM’s leadership, accountability, and legitimacy, as the body prepares to administer future electoral processes in a newly configured political landscape.
