Forward Guyana Movement takes GECOM to court over alleged ballot omissions

Less than two weeks before Guyana’s 1 September General and Regional Elections, the Forward Guyana Movement (FGM), led by former APNU politician Amanza Walton-Desir, has filed a legal challenge against the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), citing alleged omission of approved political parties from ballots in several regions.
The FGM submitted a fixed-date application in the High Court on Tuesday, seeking constitutional relief under Part 56 of the Civil Procedure Rules. The application argues that GECOM’s exclusion of certain parties violates Articles 59, 149, and 160 of the Constitution of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, as well as provisions of the Representation of the People Act (ROPA).
According to the affidavit, the Forward Guyana Movement and the Assembly of Liberty and Prosperity (ALP) were excluded from ballots in Regions Seven, Eight and Nine, while ALP was also omitted from Regions One and Two, despite both parties fulfilling all legal requirements to contest the elections.
The FGM contends that these alleged omissions deny voters in affected regions the constitutional right to vote for duly approved national lists and disproportionately impact Indigenous Amerindian communities, amounting to discrimination based on race and place of origin. The motion further argues that excluding parties undermines proportional representation by artificially reducing the total national votes available for allocation of seats in the National Assembly.
Krystal Hadassah Fisher, a registered elector in Region Nine and a candidate on the national list, is leading the legal challenge, asserting that GECOM’s ballot practices are unconstitutional, discriminatory, and silence the voices of Indigenous and rural communities.
Filed by attorney Dr Vivan Williams of VMW Law, the motion seeks urgent relief, requesting the court to declare elections held without full party inclusion null and void; restrain GECOM from excluding any duly qualified party from national ballots; direct GECOM to immediately include the Forward Guyana Movement list of candidates in Regions Seven, Eight and Nine and ensure voters in Regions One, Two, Seven, Eight and Nine can participate freely in the electoral process.