‘Take it to court’ – AG tells warring opposition factions over GECOM seats

Oct 23, 2025 News

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…says dispute a legal matter as GECOM Chair holds firm

By Rehana Ramsay

(Kaieteur News) – Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Anil Nandlall, SC. has made it clear that opposition parties battling over appointments to the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) will have to settle the matter in court if they cannot agree among themselves.

His comments come amid rising tension following GECOM Chairperson, Justice (Ret’d) Claudette Singh’s decision to pause all election-related meetings until the new Parliament is convened and the Opposition benches are formally constituted.

Justice Singh has said she anticipates changes in the Opposition’s representatives on the Commission, given that the Azruddin Mohamed-led We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) has replaced the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) as the new main opposition. She said the Constitution provides for this transition. But the position has sparked pushback from APNU Commissioner Vincent Alexander, who has questioned Singh’s interpretation.

Weighing in during his weekly programme Issues in the News, Nandlall asserted that the Opposition can choose to trash out the matter or let the court decides. “…Those who are aggrieved obviously must know that they have recourse to the court because it a legal issue and they can have the matter ventilated there.”  Nandlall refrained from expressing his views on the matter noting that as Attorney General he will be required to be a party to the case, once it reaches the court. “My views will be expressed at that forum…. I don’t think it’s necessary for me to be dragged in an opposition dispute or comment on the independent exercise of GECOM’s prerogative on a matter that concerns GECOM.”

Nandlall continued “I have my views obviously but GECOM is an autonomous body and the chairperson has taken a position…This obviously is a legal issue involving the opposition and they have to resolve it…It is obviously a constitutional controversy and if it reaches the court in any event, I will have to be a party because all constitutional matters require the Attorney General to be named as a respondent so I would not be speaking on this matter.”

Commenting on the matter, chartered accountant and lawyer, Christopher Ram noted better judgment should prevail among the opposition parties when selecting its representatives. Ram asserted that “If the chairperson’s logic applies, then it means that the tenure of every one of the commissioners including the chairperson, has expired.  He clarified that on the other hand the level of presumption by Alexander of lifetime appointments could never have been the case.  “Mr. Alexander knows as well as anyone else that the Carter formula should have applied for the 1992 elections only. In any case, particularly in relation today appointments by the opposition leader, I would’ve thought their own better judgment would prevail over self- interest and strained logic and arguments,” Ram said.

Senior Counsel Ralph Ramkarran, a former Speaker of the National Assembly held that it would take agreement among the Opposition parties and their appointees to have the matter resolved. He opined that the GECOM chairperson is being cautious in her approach to the situation. “I think the chair is looking at the possibility that with the opposition composition is differently constituted from the last time and that the opposition parties may well come to the conclusion as to who their representatives on the commission should be and if, they come to such a conclusion, maybe the commissioners representing the opposition will resign and make way for new appointees, if they agree that there should be new commissioners,” he said.

Ramkarran noted that as it stands, there is no provision in the Constitution for the current commissioners to be removed.  He said there used to be a provision for removal, but it was removed. “Up to 1973, the life of the commission ended at the end of every election and new commissioners were appointed by the government and by the opposition,” he said.

Leader of new opposition party, Forward Guyana Movement (FGM), Amanza Walton-Desir also added her voice to the issue. In a statement to the press Walton-Desir pointed out that the current impasse at GECOM is not primarily about personalities. She asserted that “The real problem is that the Commission is politicised, and structured in a way that entrenches the two-party system.”  “It was never designed to function as an impartial, professional institution serving all Guyanese. Guyana is no longer a two-party society, as the presence of three opposition parties in Parliament shows. Yet GECOM’s current design locks the system into old divides, undermining the fairness, credibility, and independence that every election demand,” Walton-Desir continued.

As such, the politician noted that there must be a complete transformation of the Guyana Elections Commission into a professional, independent, and politically neutral body. She emphasised that “The administration of elections must not depend on the whims of politicians or the arithmetic of parliamentary seats. It should be entrusted to a commission of qualified professionals chosen for integrity, competence, and commitment to public service and to Guyana, not loyalty to any leader or party.”

“We have seen this model succeed elsewhere in the Caribbean. Jamaica’s electoral Commission of Jamaica for instance, is considered the regional gold standard. It is a system that has earned the trust of citizens and the respect of the international community. Guyana deserves the same, we can have nice things too, but we the Guyanese people must insist,” the   lawyer said

She stressed therefore that “The next Parliament must prioritise constitutional reform to establish a genuinely independent GECOM, one insulated from party politics, operating transparently, and accountable only to the people of Guyana. “We have to end this cycle of political capture and build institutions worthy of public,” she said.

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• Anil Nandlall, Claudette Singh, GECOM, opposition, Vincent Alexander

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