GECOM chair rules against use of jaguar as political symbol

– as WIN now claims party symbol a leopard, threatens legal action against commission

The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has ruled that the use of the jaguar—a national symbol found on the country’s Coat of Arms, by any political party is not permissible.

This decision was made by GECOM Chairperson, Retired Justice Claudette Singh, following concerns raised over the use of the jaguar by the political party We Invest In Nationhood (WIN), led by United States sanctioned, Azruddin Mohamed. Justice Singh cited Article 7 of the Constitution of Guyana, which outlines the duty of citizens to respect national symbols, as the basis for her decision.
The matter was brought to public attention when Chairman of the National Protected Areas Commission (NPAC), Robert Persaud, issued a statement on June 19 objecting to the use of the jaguar by a political party.
“Turning this national symbol into a party logo strips it of that shared meaning and tries to turn it into something small, partisan, and representing only a few,” Persaud had stated.
The objection was supported by Chairman of the National Toshaos Council (NTC), Derrick John, and Leader of the Liberty and Justice Party (LJP), Lennox Shuman, who also voiced their disapproval of WIN’s use of the symbol.

Not a jaguar – WIN
Later, reports surfaced which stated that WIN leader, the US-sanctioned presidential candidate, Azruddin Mohamed, just hours after GECOM’s decision was made public, said that the symbol of his political party is a leopard, not a jaguar.
Mohamed was quoted in an online news source as saying that after GECOM officially informs WIN of its decision, a reply would be sent stating that the image is not that of a jaguar but a leopard.
According to the report, Mohammed said if GECOM does not rescind its rejection, WIN would be moving to the High Court.
“Once refused, ‘yes’, I will move to the High Court. For sure, the face that we submitted is a different species. We’ll write them, give them a fair hearing so they’ll respond and once they refuse…,” he is quoted as saying.
On Wednesday Guyana Times reported that 24 political parties had submitted their proposed symbols to GECOM for review by the June 23 deadline, in keeping with the statutory requirements ahead of the General and Regional Elections. GECOM is scheduled to consider the submitted symbols on July 1 and will notify the parties of the outcome shortly after.
Nomination Day is set for July 14, when political parties are required to submit their Lists of Candidates to the Chief Election Officer, along with their approved party symbols.
Preparations for the September 1, 2025 elections are ongoing. GECOM recently administered the Oath of Office to ten Returning Officers and ten Supernumerary Returning Officers during a formal ceremony. These officers will manage the electoral process in the various districts and sub-districts, including Regions Three, Four, and Six.
The appointments were made in accordance with the Representation of the People Act. Their names and office locations have been published on GECOM’s official website, www.gecom.org.gy.
GECOM has also been engaged in the statutory Claims and Objections process. The ‘Claims’ phase has ended, and the ‘Objections’ period concludes today. Once complete, the Revised List of Electors will be published for 21 days before being certified.
In addition, legislative amendments to the Representation of the People (Amendment) Bill 2025 now permit either the Supernumerary Returning Officer or their deputy to conduct the vote tabulation process within sub-districts. This change follows controversies surrounding the 2020 elections, specifically the tabulation of Region Four’s results. Following Nomination Day, other key electoral dates include July 15: Notification of death or withdrawal of candidates, and correction of defects; July 17: Submission of corrected Lists and additional withdrawals; July 18: GECOM to issue approvals or rejections; July 20: Deadline for appeals to the High Court; July 21: Notification of joinder of lists; July 23: Publication of approved Lists of Candidates
Members of the Disciplined Services will vote on August 22, ahead of the national polling day.