Guyana Acting Chief Justice Navindra Singh on Friday dismissed a case brought by the Forward Guyana Movement (FGM) challenging the party’s exclusion from ballots in several regions for the upcoming elections.
The case, filed by FGM candidate Krystal Fisher, contested the Guyana Elections Commission’s (GECOM) decision to omit the party from ballots in Regions 1, 2, 7, 8, and 9. FGM argued it should have appeared on all ballots nationwide, even though it did not submit candidate lists for those constituencies.
In his ruling, Chief Justice Singh was clear: “It would be unlawful for GECOM to include FGM on the ballot paper when they haven’t submitted a list for a particular geographical constituency.”
The Court also ordered FGM to pay costs of $1 million each to GECOM and the Attorney General’s Chambers.
Speaking outside the courtroom, Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Anil Nandlall said the lawsuit had no merit. “The case should have never been filed…the judge pointed out that this framework of rules and the constitutional provisions have been there since 2000…you think 25 years would have passed and nobody would have seen this?” he said.
The Chief Justice rejected FGM’s argument that the exclusion violated constitutional rights to vote and participate in democratic governance. With the ruling, GECOM confirmed that elections will proceed as planned, with ballots across all 10 administrative regions featuring only the parties that submitted valid geographic lists.
