–rules GECOM acted lawfully

Chief Justice (ag) Navindra Singh on Friday afternoon ruled that the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) acted lawfully when it decided not to include the Forward Guyana Movement (FGM) on the ballot for Regions Seven, Eight, and Nine in the upcoming elections.

The party had moved to the High Court, challenging GECOM’s position, arguing that it was unfairly excluded.

However, the Chief Justice found that the electoral body was correct in applying the law, which requires political parties to submit lists of candidates for every electoral district in which they intend to contest.

According to the ruling, FGM failed to provide candidate lists for the three regions in question, thereby disqualifying itself from appearing on the ballots there.

Justice Singh handed down a similar ruling against the Assembly for Liberty and Prosperity (ALP), noting that the party also failed to submit candidate lists in certain regions.

“The application is dismissed in its entirety,” the Chief Justice declared as he threw out FGM’s case.

The parties are currently assessing the court on the issue of costs.