The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) on Tuesday mounted a firm defence in the High Court, insisting that it acted squarely within the law when it excluded the Forward Guyana Movement (FGM) and the Assembly for Liberty and Prosperity (ALP) from ballots in some electoral districts.
The exclusion – which affects Regions 1, 2, 7, 8 and 9 – has sparked legal action from FGM candidate Krystal Hadassah Fisher, who claims that her right to vote for her preferred party is being violated.
But GECOM’s legal team, led by attorney Arudranauth Gossai, has made clear that the commission’s role is to enforce the Representation of the People Act (RoPA), not to bend rules for parties that failed to meet requirements.
“If you don’t have a list, you can’t go on the ballot,” Gossai told Chief Justice (ag) Navindra Singh.
“The ballot is cast for a geographical constituency list simultaneously with the national top-up list. If a party chooses not to field candidates in a constituency, how can it blame GECOM for not including them?”
He reminded the court that FGM did not submit a single candidate in Regions 7, 8, or 9, leaving GECOM with no mechanism to place the party on those ballots.
“Where would the names come from if they were to win seats?” he pressed. “It is impossible to fill seats without a list. That is not exclusion – it is compliance with the law.”
Attorney General Anil Nandlall, appearing in the case, strongly supported GECOM’s position. He told the court that Guyana’s electoral framework is designed around 10 geographic constituencies, and that only those parties which meet the legal threshold can appear on ballots.
“The system ensures every elector can exercise their franchise, but if you want to vote for a party, that party must be participating in your constituency,” Nandlall explained. “FGM chose not to contest in three regions. That is their choice, not GECOM’s fault.”
He said the application before the court is “misguided” and risks undermining established electoral principles that have governed Guyana’s elections for decades.
Chief Election Officer Vishnu Persaud, through his attorney, stressed that GECOM did not deliberately exclude any party. Instead, he said the commission faithfully followed the law.
“No party which submitted lists was left off any ballot,” Persaud maintained. “The applicant’s claim is based on a fundamental misunderstanding of how our electoral system works.”
He explained that under RoPA, the national top-up list is tied to the geographic lists. A party cannot appear on the national list unless it has properly nominated candidates in the constituencies.
During the hearing, Acting Chief Justice Singh pressed Fisher’s lawyer, Dr. Vivian Williams, to identify precisely how GECOM violated either the Constitution or RoPA. Singh noted that while voting is a fundamental right, it is not absolute and must be exercised within the framework of existing electoral laws.
“No one is preventing your client from voting,” the judge observed. “The law requires compliance with procedures.”
Williams argued that GECOM’s decision creates “unequal citizens” by limiting the parties voters can choose in certain regions. But Singh reminded him that it was not GECOM but the parties themselves that failed to file lists in those regions.
The matter is set to continue on Wednesday, when Williams will respond to the submissions made by GECOM and the Attorney General.
For now, GECOM has signalled that it views the case as an attempt to shift blame from the parties’ own failures. Both the Commission and the Attorney General’s chambers have also indicated that they will seek costs if the application is dismissed.
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