No date set for by-elections in tied local authority areas

Although the High Court has ordered that a date be set to host by-elections in the tied local authority areas, this is yet to be done.
The Opposition People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Chief Whip Gail Teixeira has since expressed concerns.
During a press conference on Thursday, Teixeira said it was worrying that the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) and the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Government continued to disregard the rule of law.
She explained that a week has passed since the High Court ordered that a date be set for the elections, but nothing has been done by either the town clerk or overseers in question, or by GECOM or Communities Minister Ronald Bulkan in this regard.
Furthermore, she chided GECOM for abdicating its constitutional responsibilities to ensure each local authority area has its leadership installed.
“GECOM must be reminded that the elections process of the March 18 Local Government Elections is at this point incomplete until the by-elections of the tied local authority areas are concluded,” she stated, noting that GECOM has a constitutional right to ensure these elections are held.
The PPP/C had moved to the courts to stop Communities Minister Bulkan from illegally appointing a Mayor and Deputy Mayor of Mabaruma in Region One (Barima-Waini) as well as the Chairpersons and Vice Chairpersons in five other local authority areas in which the PPP/C and the APNU/AFC had the same number of seats after the LGE.
Bulkan had appointed Kervin Crawford as Chairman and Gail Thomas as Vice Chairman of the Gibraltar-Fyrish Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC); Audrey Thomas as Chairman of the Industry-Plaisance NDC; Peter Livingstone as Chairman and Royan Junior Thomas as Vice Chairman of the Malgre Tout-Meer Zorgen NDC; Carol Nurse as Chairman and Wilbert Vhypius as Vice Chairman of the Woodlands-Bel Air NDC; Gershon Clarke as Chairman of the Woodlands-Farm NDC and Rupert Henry Smith as Mayor and Astrille Gamell as Deputy Mayor of the municipality of Mabaruma.
However, the Court quashed these appointments and ruled in favour of the PPP/C on the grounds that that they were contrary to and in violation of Municipal and District Councils Act Chapter 28:01 and the Local Government Act Chapter 28:02. Justice Diana Insanally said that the decision “is in excess of and without jurisdiction, made in bad faith, is unreasonable, arbitrary, capricious, based upon irrelevant and improper considerations, mala fide, malicious, vindictive, unlawful, ultravires, null, void and of no legal effect”.