Contending that the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) acted unlawfully when it changed the boundaries of 37 constituencies in 19 Local Authority Areas (LAAs), the PNC-led Parliamentary Opposition has moved to the High Court to stop the June 12 Local Government Elections (LGE).
The party is insisting that the changes violate Article 72 of the Constitution of Guyana and Section 3 (1) (a) and (b) of the Local Authorities (Elections) Act Cap. 28:03. Consequently, it argues that the LGE must be postponed until GECOM performs its functions in accodrance with the law.
By way of a Fixed Date Application (FDA) filed by APNU Chief scrutineer Carol Smith-Joseph and an Affidavit in Support by Opposition-nominated GECOM Commissioner Vincent Alexander, the Opposition wants the court to issue an order directing GECOM to comply with the legal provisions in relation to changing the boundaries before the long-overdue elections can be held.
In February, three months after it had to reverse the demarcation of constituency boundaries after recognising that the Local Government Minister Nigel Dharamlall was not empowered to make such changes, GECOM approved Chief Elections Officer, (CEO) Vishnu Persaud’s report on the demarcation of constituency boundaries. The changes were gazetted on February 8 despite objections from Opposition-nominated GECOM Commissioners.
The Opposition contends that in making the changes, GECOM blatantly disregarded the criteria and procedures for the demarcation of constituencies that it previously used.
Alexander had previously told another section of the media that the demarcation process entails party representatives and registration officials going out into the fields to agree on the boundaries, however, GECOM would have the final decision on the demarcations.
This matter comes up for hearing on May 30 before acting Chief Justice Roxane George, SC.
Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton has announced that the party has instituted legal proceedings concerning, inter alia, instances of voter fraud it has brought to the attention of GECOM but which the electoral body has continued to ignore. “GECOM as presently composed, chaired, and mismanaged, does not have the competence, integrity, attitude, foresight, and vision to deliver free, fair and credible elections in Guyana… elections that can win the trust and confidence of the Guyanese public and all contesting groups and parties. Fixing the Guyana Elections Commission should begin now,” he told a press conference on Thursday.
GECOM’s Chairperson Justice (retired) Claudette Singh has advised contestants that they should seek redress about the alleged forgery of names of nominators and candidates through an appeal to a magistrate or election petitions, according to Alexander.
Next Thursday, May 11, the Chief Justice will rule on Smith-Joseph’s application challenging the process used by GECOM to compile the Voters’ List for the upcoming Local Government polls.
In this case, Smith-Joseph is asking the court to make a series of declarations: that GECOM acted ultra vires and unlawfully in compiling the List of Voters for the LGE; that the action of the Chief Elections Officer and/or the Commissioner of National Registration in extracting a List of Electors under GECOM’s order is similarly ultra vires and unlawful; that GECOM acted in dereliction of its duty under the relevant electoral laws; and that GECOM has a constitutional duty to ensure that registration of electors is conducted in accordance with the law.
“The process employed by the Commission to prepare a Register of Voters for use at the next Local Government Elections has deprived the electors and/or voters of the opportunity to object to persons on the Register of Voters in the manner provided for in, and contemplated by, Local Authorities (Elections) Act Cap. 28:03”, Smith-Joseph has deposed in court filings.
Another ground in her application outlined that the process employed by GECOM to prepare a Register of Voters for use at the next LGE has not been in accordance with the Local Authorities (Elections) Act. To this end, Joseph has asked the court to grant orders setting aside GECOM’s order to extract a List of Electors for Local Government Elections “…on the ground and for the reason that the said Order, No. 55 of 2022, is ultra vires and unlawful.”
She also wants the court to set aside the extraction of the List of Electors by the Chief Election Officer and/or the Commissioner of National Registration; as well as for an order to be granted compelling the Elections Commission to comply with the relevant sections of the Local Authorities (Elections) Act, Cap 28:03. Another order is being sought to direct and/or compel GECOM to compile a register of voters in accordance with the provisions set out in the Local Authorities (Elections) Act, Cap 28:03, before conducting any Local Government Election in Guyana.
These legal proceedings come at a time when GECOM is moving full steam ahead in preparing for the polls. In fact, Nominations Day was held on April 17 and saw parties or organisations/groups or individuals running at LGE making their way to a designated location set by GECOM, where their representatives submitted their List of Candidates, as well as signed on to the required documents, such as a code of conduct, in order to contest the elections.
Roysdale Forde, SC is the Opposition’s lawyer while GECOM is usually represented by its in-house attorney Kurt Da Silva.
Local Government Elections were initially scheduled for March 13 but disagreements over constituencies and how lists were to be extracted caused a setback.
LGE were constitutionally due at the end of last year, but GECOM was without a Chief Election Officer and could not have prepared to host the elections. GECOM, a constitutional body, was allocated $5.2B in the 2023 National Budget to carry out its functions.
