Representatives of the Alliance for Change (AFC), Forward Guyana Movement (FGM) and the We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) political parties have confirmed that they have resubmitted the necessary corrections to the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to update defects on their List of Candidates for the upcoming September 1 elections.
On Monday, political parties seeking to contest the elections submitted their regional, national top-up, and geographical constituency lists of candidates, with five of the seven submitting parties being subsequently notified by GECOM that there were defects with their lists.
The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) and A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) were the only two parties without defects on their lists.
The other contesting parties are the Assembly for Liberty and Prosperity (ALP), led by former APNU/AFC Minister Simona Broomes, which will be contesting in six regions, and the Horizon and Star Party, led by Dr Hubert Maloney.
WIN is being led by United States (US)-sanctioned businessman Azruddin Mohamed, while FGM is headed by former APNU parliamentarian Amanza Walton-Desir, and AFC is led by presidential candidate Nigel Hughes.
Speaking with the Guyana Times on Thursday, AFC Executive David Patterson confirmed that the AFC had submitted the corrections to their list on Wednesday.
“We’re good, all 10 regions, all geographical, and the national top-up,” Patterson affirmed.
The AFC had been contacted by GECOM due to issues relating to two of their regional lists, noting that the issue related to the maximum requirement of candidates not being met. One of the regions is Region Nine.
Speaking for FGM, Walton-Desir said that her party submitted the corrections.
“We completed that yesterday [Wednesday]. We are awaiting the official correspondence from GECOM, and the official communication must come from the Commission, and they are meeting [on Friday],” Walton-Desir noted.
All seven parties will be notified on Friday as to whether their lists have been approved or not by GECOM. Any party not approved will have until July 20 to appeal their non-approval at the High Court.
The parties also have until July 21 to notify GECOM of any joinder of lists, whereby any two or more parties will be combining their votes. The officially approved lists will be gazetted on July 23.
On Monday, parties were able to submit Regional Lists to contend for seats in respective Regional Democratic Councils (RDCs) across the country and submit their National Top-Up List and Geographical Constituency List to contest the General Elections and vie for seats in the National Assembly.
Of the 65 elected members in Guyana’s National Assembly, 25 are elected from the 10 geographical constituencies and the remaining 40 from the national top-up list. Parties have to ensure that one-third of the candidates nominated are female.
