Amanza wants halt to elections

Aug 21, 2025
News

…after party knocked off ballot for regions 7, 8, 9

From left to right (Members of the FGM; Nicholas Chesney, Francis Bailey, Amanza Walton-Desir and Malika Ramsey

Kaieteur News – With less than two weeks away from the September 1, general and regional elections and one day away from discipline forces elections, the Forward Guyana Movement (FGM) has filed legal proceedings against the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) after discovering that the party was omitted from the national ballot in Regions Seven, Eight, and Nine.

According to FGM, led by presidential candidate Amanza Walton-Desir, the party met all requirements and was duly approved to contest the national elections. While the party is not contesting these regions at the geographical level, it was approved to appear on the national list across all 10 electoral regions.

In response, FGM has petitioned the high court, seeking an immediate halt to the electoral process until the party’s candidates are properly included in the national ballots for the affected regions.

Walton-Desir made the announcement during a press conference on Wednesday, where she also revealed that another new party the Assembly for Liberty and Prosperity (ALP), led by Simona Broomes, has similarly been omitted from the national ballots in Regions One, Two, Seven, Eight, and Nine.

FGM has argued that the omissions not only disenfranchise voters in those regions, but also impact the party’s ability to secure votes and seats in the national assembly. Reading from a prepared statement, Walton-Desir stated that the court application seeks constitutional relief under Part 56 of the Civil Procedure Rules, claiming that GECOM’s actions violate Articles 59, 149, and 160 of the constitution, as well as provisions of the Representation of the People Act (ROPA).

The affidavit outlines four key arguments:

Omission of approved parties
Violation of constitutional rights: Electors in these regions are being denied their right to vote for approved national lists, violating Articles 59 and 160 of the constitution.
Discrimination: The excluded regions are predominantly inhabited by indigenous Amerindian populations. Their exclusion, the affidavit claims, amounts to discrimination based on race and place of origin.
Distortion of proportional representation: By excluding parties from key regions, GECOM allegedly distorts the proportional allocation of seats in the National Assembly, according to the affidavit.

Walton-Desir related that one of the party’s FGM national candidate in Region Nine, and registered voter, Krystal Hadassah Fisher, is now unable to vote for her own party. “The plaintiff is arguing that GECOM’s ballot design is unconstitutional, discriminatory, and silences the voices of indigenous and rural communities,” she said.

Additionally, during the press conference, Walton-Desir emphasised that FGM met the threshold for participation in the national elections. “We were given guidance through GECOM’s official manual, that for every region, you had to have a minimum number of candidates and a maximum number. What we did, we struck the midway point. When we submitted our list, we were written by GECOM to say that you are required to have the maximum candidates. Can you imagine how difficult that is logistically for a new party, without the logistic capacity of the older giants in this regard? But we were able to do it,” she said.

However, Walton-Desir sighted GECOM inconsistencies with the requirements stating, “What is the use of providing a minimum standard if you are going to then retract that and tell people you have to abide by the maximum? What is the use of saying to the electorate, that in order to qualify to participate in the general elections, you must meet the threshold of being able to compete in six districts, and then you exclude them from the general elections?”

She further added, “all of these matters are matters that we want clarified, because our giant movement is not intent to proceed just being dragged along. We want clarity, we want the courts to pronounce, and we want GECOM to get its act together.”

The legal motion, filed by Dr. Vivan Williams of VMW Law on behalf of FGM, seeks the following remedies from the court:

A declaration that any elections held without full party inclusion are null and void;
An order restraining GECOM from excluding any duly qualified party from national ballots;
A directive requiring GECOM to immediately include the FGM national list in Regions Seven, Eight, and Nine;
An assurance that voters in Regions One, Two, Seven, Eight, and Nine are not restricted in their electoral participation.

When asked about the urgency of the matter, Walton-Desir responded, “We would want the court to hear the case at the earliest possible time. “However, Walton-Desir elaborated on the party’s declaration to the court, outlining several key demands. She said, “an order of mandating that GECOM includes all political parties contesting the national elections on the ballot papers in all geographic regions. An order restraining GECOM whether by itself, its officer, servants or agents from proceeding with the conduct of the upcoming regional a general election unless or until the FGM list of candidates is included in all the ballots in all 10 electoral regions, in accordance with the constitution and ROPA. Cost on such other relief as the honorable court would deem just.”

GECOM’s Response

When asked about GECOM’s response to the matter, Walton-Desir stated that Deputy Chief Elections Officer Aneal Giddings claimed the issue stemmed from a misunderstanding of a graphic previously released by GECOM. According to Giddings, the graphic may have incorrectly indicated that all qualified parties would appear on the national ballot. She said, “He did indicate that contrary to this graphic that there was a graphic put out by GECOM that for the national ballot all parties qualified then there was a geographic constituency which showed in the case of FGM the seven constituency which amounts to 25 seats in the national assembly and then the last line would be the regional.” However, Walton-Desir rejected this explanation, stating, “We are not prepared to have GECOM say ‘oh that was a mistake. ‘That mistake is affecting the ability of residents in several regions.”

Kaieteur News contacted GECOM’s Public Relations Officer, Yolanda Ward, for clarification on the party omissions. However, Ward declined to comment, stating, “since the matter is engaging the attention of the court, we will not address it.”

“This court challenge is not just about a technicality—it’s about giving the people of Guyana the knowledge and fair choices they need to make the right decision come September 1. This fight is about fairness, dignity, and ensuring that no community is silenced or treated as second-class in their own country,” Walton-Desir said.