Elections in Guyana

Guyana holds General and Regional Elections for the National Assembly and Regional Democratic Councils, as well as separate local government elections and referendums. The National Assembly has at least 65 elected seats: 25 seats come from Geographical Constituencies in 10 Electoral Districts and 40 seats come from a National Top-up List. Seats are allocated through proportional representation using the Largest Remainder-Hare Formula. Each party list must contain at least one-third women, and a National Top-up List must contain at least 42 candidates. Nomination requirements include an approved symbol, a list of candidates and usually 300 to 330 nominators, depending on the applicable constituency arrangements. The President is not chosen on a separate ballot. A vote for a National Assembly party list also supports its designated Presidential candidate. The party receiving the most votes forms the government and its designated candidate becomes President. If the leading parties receive the same number of votes, the prescribed procedure can assign the result by lot in the presence required by law. The Guyana Elections Commission, known as GECOM, is the constitutionally independent body responsible for election administration. It has a Chair and six members, supported by a Permanent Secretariat led by the Chief Election Officer. Registration is available from age 14, while voting requires the person to be at least 18, registered and eligible under the constitutional rules. Eligible voters include Guyanese citizens by birth, descent, naturalisation or registration, and qualifying Commonwealth citizens who have been domiciled or resident in Guyana for at least one year. Registration and a National ID are free; regular ID issuance can take about six weeks. GECOM publishes the Preliminary List of Electors and the Official List of Electors and provides procedures for claims, objections, corrections and address transfers. Registration documents can include an original birth certificate, valid passport, adoption certificate, Form F, or a naturalisation or registration certificate. Voters can use GECOM's polling-station lookup with their ID or their name and date of birth. Non-Resident Electors use a separate roll and ballot-handling process. Members of the disciplined forces may vote through an advance ballot, while proxy voting is limited to legal categories such as specified election officials, disciplined-force members, candidates, vessel crew and voters with certain visual or physical impairments. Polling normally takes place on one day from 6:00 to 18:00. General and Regional Elections use two ballots. A National ID is preferred, but a valid Guyana passport or driver's licence can also identify the voter. If the required document is unavailable, election officials can use an identity oath or registration-folio verification where the law permits. The voter receives a stamped ballot, marks it secretly, folds it so the official mark remains visible and places it in the ballot box. Election officials check the register and apply indelible ink to the right index finger. Phones and recording devices are not allowed inside polling stations, and vote buying, impersonation, multiple voting, ballot secrecy violations and interference within 200 yards of a polling station are prohibited. Officials count ballots at each polling station after polls close and send the Statement of Poll to the Returning Officer. GECOM publishes scanned or digital Statements of Poll, followed by district declarations. A valid recount request may be made after a declaration, and election petitions concerning National Assembly elections go to the competent court under the National Assembly (Validity of Elections) Act. Questions about presidential qualifications or constitutional issues go to the Court of Appeal. National Assembly elections must take place within three months after Parliament is dissolved, while the specific election date is set by proclamation and the Commission's published schedule. In the 1 September 2025 General and Regional Elections, PPP/C won 36 seats, WIN won 16, APNU won 12 and FGM won 1; GECOM declared Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali President on 6 September 2025.