GEORGETOWN, Guyana – The minority opposition, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), has tabled a motion in the National Assembly seeking to amend the Representation of the People Act as a first move to have voters digitally verified before they are allowed to cast ballots in the 2030 general and regional elections.
“This motion seeks to strengthen the integrity of Guyana’s electoral system by requiring biometric verification of voters at the time of voting. It is intended to prevent voter impersonation, reduce the need for extensive scrutineering by political parties, particularly smaller ones, and restore public confidence in the credibility of election outcomes,” APNU parliamentarian, Dr Terrence Campbell, said in a letter to the Clerk of the National Assembly.
The National Assembly met for the first time on Monday since the Septemer1 regional and general election that resulted in the ruling People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) being returned to office for another five-year term.
However, the APNU, which formed the main opposition in the last parliament lost that position to the newly formed We Invest in Nationhood (WIN), whose leader, Azrrudin Mohamed, is seeking to be sworn in as Opposition Leader.
In the motion, the APNU, whose main party is the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) that once governed the country, said that the use of modern biometric technologies, such as fingerprint and facial recognition, has proven effective in many democracies worldwide in preventing voter fraud and ensuring that only duly registered electors cast ballots;
The opposition party is hoping that the implementation of such technologies will reduce the administrative and financial burdens on political parties, while simultaneously enhancing the credibility, transparency, and integrity of elections in Guyana.
The motion also notes that the 2025 general and regional elections were similarly marred by allegations of voter impersonation and other irregularities which have called into question the integrity of the results, and smaller political parties, in particular, face significant challenges in recruiting, training, and remunerating scrutineers to monitor the voting process and guard against voter impersonation.
The opposition party wants the Irfaan Ali government to amend Section 69 of the Representation of the People Act, to include a new provision requiring that every voter, prior to casting his or her ballot, shall produce such additional evidence as may be determined by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to establish, by means of fingerprint or facial recognition, that the person is the registered voter whose name and voter identification number appear in the Official List of Electors.
It also calls on the government, in consultation with GECOM to take the necessary legislative, technical, and administrative steps to give effect to that amendment in time for the next regional and general elections.
The National Assembly on Monday adjourned without fixing a date for the next meeting.
