Application filed for court to strike out FGM election petition

…as AG Chambers seek already-awarded $4M in costs by Nov 14

Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall, SC, has filed a summons to strike out the election petition brought by the Forward Guyana Movement (FGM) at the Court of Appeal. He is also calling on the political party to pay its $2 million court-ordered costs by November 14.

Speaking on his weekly programme “Issues in the News”, Nandlall condemned the FGM for what he described as a “series of frivolous and misconceived legal actions”, accusing the party of abusing the court’s process with baseless filings. He reminded that during earlier hearings, both his team and lawyers of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) exposed what he called the party’s “complete misunderstanding” of the Constitution and the Representation of the People Act.
“This is FGM – Forward Guyana Movement – because they have embroiled the Attorney General in a series of litigation,” Nandlall stated. “You would recall, days before the elections, they filed a challenge in the High Court claiming that their name was wrongly excluded from the ballot papers. That case was heard and determined by the current Acting Chief Justice, Justice Navindra Singh.”

The Attorney General recounted that during that case, he and the Attorneys representing GECOM made submissions demonstrating what he termed a “complete and utter misunderstanding” by the FGM of the Constitution and the Representation of the People Act.
“I said publicly and in court that I have never seen such a misapplication and misunderstanding of clear English language,” Nandlall said. “The Judge upheld all of our submissions and dismissed the case.”

Prior litigation
Before the September 1 elections, FGM – a party founded by former A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Member of Parliament Amanza Walton-Desir – filed legal proceedings against GECOM after the party was excluded from the ballot in Regions Seven, Eight, and Nine – regions where the party did not submit the required lists of candidates to contest. FGM was only approved by GECOM to contest seven of the 10 regions.
In his August 29 ruling, acting Chief Justice Navindra Singh noted that GECOM’s decision to exclude the party from the ballots in the three regions was consistent with constitutional principles that ensure the ballot access reflects parties contesting within specific constituencies. In dismissing the case, the acting Chief Justice said the applicant, Crystal Fisher, failed to prove her claims of discrimination, describing the assertion as “malicious”.
This decision was then appealed at the Court of Appeal, where it was unanimously rejected.
Acting Chancellor Justice Roxane George declared in her October 10 decision that the case had no merit, reiterating that GECOM acted lawfully in excluding the party from the ballot in the three regions. Moreover, the Chief Justice noted that the case was improperly before the court; that is, it did not arise from an election petition, and as such, the court had no jurisdiction to entertain it.
Dissatisfied with the Appeal Court’s judgement, the FGM has filed leave to appeal to the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) – Guyana’s final appellate court, and that matter comes up for arguments on December 10.

Election petition
Now, the party has filed an election petition. Filed in the High Court on October 14 in the name of Randolph Critchlow, the election petition challenges the validity of the September 1 elections, claiming that Guyana’s electoral laws and GECOM’s enforcement of those laws violated citizens’ constitutional right to participate freely, fairly, and fully at any and every level of the electoral process across the country.
Nandlall previously indicated that when this matter is thrown out by the court, he will not only file an application for costs from the litigant but also from the lawyer leading the case.
The High Court will set a date for the election petition hearing.
The Attorney General maintained that the FGM’s continued attempts to litigate election-related matters despite multiple dismissals demonstrate a “pattern of reckless disregard for judicial time and process”.

Recovering sums owed
Meanwhile, Nandlall has written FGM, reminding the party of two court-ordered costs totalling $4 million which are required to be paid by Friday, November 14.
These costs were awarded by the courts after FGM lost its ‘ballot exclusion’ case that was filed prior to the September 1 elections.
Nandlall said decisive steps would be taken to recover the sums if FGM failed to comply with the payment order.
“Owing to the Attorney General is a million cost for the High Court action Chief Justice Navindra Singh dismisses, and another million dollars that the Court of Appeal granted, when they dismissed the appeal… In advance, we have sent out letters demanding payment in compliance with the order on or before November 14. That is $2 million to the Attorney General and $2 million to GECOM, so that’s $4 million,” Nandlall explained during his weekly “Issues in the News” programme.