Dear Editor,
Maybe as a law-thicko, I should accept the learned judge Navindra Singh putting the blame on Forward Guyana Movement (FGM) and the Assembly of Liberty and Prosperity (ALP) for them not being listed on the National top-up list for regions 7-9. But I have troubling difficulty in following how the learned judge’s decision is guided by the current Representation of the People Act published on the Guyana Laws website.
The Representation of People Act, section 11B, outlines how a party qualifies to contest the general election and what steps the party must take to be listed on the ballot.
To qualify, a party must compete in at least six of the geographical regions with no less than 13 seats among the regions.
Then the party must supply two separate and distinct lists. One for the regions it is contesting in and one for the national top-up list naming the Presidential candidate.
The ballot paper gives each voter the chance to vote twice; one for the region and one for the top-up. This arrangement allows the voter to choose the same party for both region and top-up; or for two different parties.
If the National List section of the Ballot papers for regions 7-9 do not list FGM and ALP, would the voters in regions 7-9 not be denied their top-up vote, a right rooted in the regulations?