HGP Nightly News – Guyana’s 2026 Local Government Elections remain stuck at the starting line despite a completed workplan, budgeted funds and the recruitment of temporary staff, with GECOM saying its Secretariat cannot launch the process without official direction.
The Guyana Elections Commission confirmed on Friday that a comprehensive programme for the polls has already been prepared.
“The workplan identifies the activities and tasks required for the preparation and conduct of the elections,” GECOM stated.
However, the Secretariat cannot independently activate the programme.
That decision must come from the seven-member Commission, while the Minister of Local Government is responsible for naming the election date.
“The existence of a workplan therefore demonstrates that the Secretariat has undertaken the necessary planning and preparatory work,” GECOM said.
“Its implementation, however, is dependent upon the Commission exercising its statutory functions and providing the requisite direction.”
The electoral body warned that the timelines contained in the plan may have to be adjusted depending on when approval is given and the operational circumstances existing at that time.
Consequently, the longer activation takes, the greater the possibility that the original election schedule will have to be revised.
GECOM issued the clarification after Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed raised concerns about the local polls in correspondence circulated to international officials and organisations.
Recipients reportedly included United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, CARICOM Secretary-General Dr Carla Barnett, United States Ambassador Nicole Theriot, British High Commissioner Joseph Fisher, the Canadian High Commissioner and the Carter Center.
Mohamed referenced concerns reportedly raised by the Carter Center linking preparations for the elections to an impasse involving opposition-nominated commissioners at GECOM.
Friday’s statement confirmed that technical planning had been completed but did not announce when the Commission would meet to activate the programme or address the reported impasse.
Local Government Elections are ordinarily due every two years and were last conducted in June 2023.
The next polls were expected in 2025 but were deferred as Guyana held General and Regional Elections in September of that year.
Funds for the local elections have been included in GECOM’s G$6.9 billion budget for 2026, although the precise sum earmarked for the polls was not disclosed in the information provided.
GECOM also began preliminary preparations in January, including recruiting temporary workers.
Those measures indicate that administrative groundwork is underway, but a workplan and funding alone cannot establish an election date.
At the 2023 Local Government Elections, the PPP/C won 66 of the country’s 80 Local Authority Areas, while APNU secured 14.
Guyana’s political landscape has since changed significantly.
The PPP/C returned to government after winning 36 seats at the September 2025 General and Regional Elections. We Invest in Nationhood became the main parliamentary opposition with 16 seats, while APNU received 12 and the Forward Guyana Movement secured one.
The Alliance For Change failed to win a parliamentary seat.
Those results mean the next local elections will be the first test of the parties’ support at the community level since the 2025 national polls.
