The A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) has filed an application in the High Court seeking to postpone or cancel the June 12 Local Government Elections since they believe changes made to 37 constituency boundaries violate the constitution and the Local Government Act.
In the application, APNU activist Carol Joseph, said the reformed boundaries are “severely prejudiced” against the party.
Joseph’s application is supported by an affidavit from Opposition Commissioner on the Guyana Election Commission (GECOM) board, Vincent Alexander.
In his affidavit, Alexander said Local Government Minister Nigel Dharamlall presented GECOM with a list of boundary changes in November 2022 and they rejected it because he overstepped his powers.
Chief Election Officer (CEO) Vishnu Persaud was tasked with conducting a field exercise to determine if boundary changes were needed.
Alexander said Persaud returned with a report that did not deviate from the Local Government Minister’s recommendations.
Alexander, who has been an Election Commissioner for more than a decade, said Persaud’s report was rejected and he was directed to conduct the field exercise based on established precedent for boundary changes.
Joseph’s application claims Persaud insisted that he had no precedents to follow and Alexander provided previous reports showing the discussions that took place in the past about how a field exercise should be undertaken.
Alexander said the CEO returned on January 31 with a report that did not follow the precedent. He said he objected to the report being used since it did not comply with Guyana’s Constitution.
However, it was accepted by the Commission via a majority vote.
The application will be heard by Chief Justice Roxane George on May 30, 2023.
