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Azruddin Mohamed mulls legal action against GECOM over rejection of party symbol
…says animal is a Leopard, not Jaguar
Leader of We Invest In Nationhood (WIN) party, businessman Azruddin Mohamed
Kaieteur News – Presidential candidate and leader of the We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) party, Azruddin Mohamed said he will approach the courts for reprieve if the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) refuses his appeal to use his party’s symbol.
The commission ruled on Friday that the jaguar featured as the party’s symbol could not be used.
The businessman told Demerara Waves on Friday, that his political symbol is a leopard, and not a jaguar. He stated, “The symbol is not a jaguar; the symbol is another cat because the symbol that we submitted to GECOM, if you Google the image, it’s not a jaguar. It’s another species of a cat. It was a leopard.”
He told Kaieteur News that, in light of GECOM’s decision, he plans to appeal the ruling in court.
The ruling was delivered by GECOM chairperson, Justice (Ret’d) Claudette Singh, three days after the deadline for the submission of political party symbols and slogans for the upcoming general and regional elections, scheduled for September 1.
Singh made the ruling during a statutory meeting held at the commission’s headquarters in Kingston, Georgetown.
Opposition-nominated commissioner, Vincent Alexander told Kaieteur News that Justice Singh ruled that the use of the jaguar, which is an element of Guyana’s national Coat of Arms, by any political party is not permitted, reaffirming that the symbol represents national unity and should not be aligned with any partisan group.
“The chairperson specifically stated that based on article 7 of the Constitution: “It is the duty of every citizen of Guyana wherever he or she may be and of every person in Guyana to respect the national flag, the coat of arms, the national anthem, the national pledge and the Constitution of Guyana, and to treat them with due and proper solemnity on all occasions”. Her contention was that the image of the Jaguar is a part of the coat of arms and as a consequence, it cannot be used as a symbol,” Alexander stated.
Since the party’s symbol’s submission to GECOM, objections were raised regarding the use of the ‘jaguar’ as a political slogan. Letters of concerns were recently sent to GECOM by chairman of the National Toshaos Council, Derrick John and political figure Lennox Shuman, both opposing the use of the jaguar as a party symbol for the upcoming elections.
Alexander pointed out that the decision was made against the backdrop of the government-appointed commissioners’ claim of intellectual property rights over the jaguar image, attributing it to the Amerindian communities. “This attribution effectively bastardised the concept of intellectual property, the core of which is the originality of an idea or invention,” he said.
GECOM Chairperson, retired Justice Claudette Singh
Alexander argued that other parties have previously used Guyana’s national animals as party symbols without GECOM rejecting them. He also emphasised that the WIN party never referred to their symbol as a jaguar. He stated, “Without any reference to the solemnity of the use of the Jaguar as a symbol, it is beyond reason or logic for the Chair to have concluded that an element of the coat of arms, to wit the “Jaguar” is what the constitution meant when it specified the court of arms, among other national symbols. If an element was meant, then there is much to be undone, since other elements of the coat of arms, such as the pick-axe, the Canje Pheasant and Victoria Regia, among others, are frequently used by various organisations, including political parties, and on various occasions.”
The WIN party was among 24 political parties that submitted symbols for approval to GECOM on June 19, signaling their intention to contest the upcoming general and regional elections.
In a release earlier this week, GECOM said “political parties are required to submit their respective lists of candidates on nomination day for elections 2025, i.e., on the 14th July, 2025, along with a copy of their pre-approved symbol to the Chief Election Officer. GECOM remains committed to engaging all stakeholders to ensure that they are adequately prepared for this critical statutory timeline in the electoral process.”
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