Georgetown, Guyana – September 10, 2025 – The Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA) has warned that while the September 1 elections were free of violence, they fell short of meeting the standard of being truly free and fair. In a statement on Tuesday, the association said the absence of intimidation on election day cannot obscure what it described as systemic weaknesses and the ruling party’s abuse of state resources.
International observer missions from the European Union, the Organization of American States, the Commonwealth, CARICOM, and the Carter Center all commended Guyana for staging a peaceful election, but none of the five declared the polls to be free and fair. The GHRA noted that each mission flagged the People’s Progressive Party’s (PPP) reliance on state media, government vehicles, public servants, and state-owned facilities to boost its campaign. Despite these advantages, the PPP failed to secure a two-thirds parliamentary majority, with lower-than-expected voter turnout in some of its strongholds.
“The deficiencies of the Elections Commission cannot go unnoticed,” the GHRA said, arguing that GECOM’s dependence on nominations from the two major parties leaves it unable to act independently when those interests are at stake. The association recalled that constitutional reforms agreed as far back as 2000, including restructuring GECOM’s appointment system and revising the regional constituency model, have yet to be implemented. What was intended to be a temporary arrangement for the 2001 elections, declaring the ten regions as constituencies; still remains in place almost 25 years later.
The GHRA also pointed to shifting political currents revealed by the results. The rise of the We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) party, coupled with the dramatic decline of A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), has redrawn the political map. The association suggested that WIN’s emergence could help loosen the grip of ethnic polarization that has long defined Guyana’s politics. “Ex-President Bharrat Jagdeo’s disappointment over the PNC’s decline as the main opposition party was evident. Beyond policy positions, WIN’s rise may help reduce decades-long ethnic polarization between Afro- and Indo-Guyanese communities, an unexpected but welcome development,” the group stated.
While applauding citizens for turning out peacefully and rejecting violence, the GHRA argued that the test of democracy is deeper than calm voting lines. Without serious reform, it warned, elections will continue to be undermined by entrenched party control and the misuse of state resources.
