GECOM should discuss the principle of using symbols- Commissioner Alexander

Last Updated on Friday, 27 June 2025, 2:02 by Writer

Amid concerns by representatives of the Indigenous Amerindian community about Azruddin Mohamed’s political party using the jaguar as its symbol, Guyana Elections Commissioner Vincent Alexander on Wednesday said the seven-member commission should discuss the “principle” that should guide the use of symbols.

“I’m still examining this question but I have taken the position that before we pronounce on the jaguar per se, we need to have a discussion about the principle and the criteria for symbols because the issue the jaguar is raising is that you can’t use things that are sacrosanct and so forth, as a symbol,” he told Demerara Waves Online News.

Twenty-four political parties, including Mr Mohamed’s We Invest In Nationhood (WIN), have submitted their symbols for approval and subsequent use on July 14 – Nomination Day – and Election Day, September 1.

Chairman of the National Toshaos Council (NTC), Derrick John told GECOM Chairman Retired Justice Claudette Singh in a letter dated June 22, 2025 that “we condemn in the strongest possible terms and lodge this formal objection” against WIN’s use of the jaguar because it amounted to an “offensive desecration of one of our sacred symbols as a political symbol by a political party.”

People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPPC)-nominated Election Commissioner Sase Gunraj said, in keeping with the law, the Commission must consider the proposed symbols. “We have always done it and we have to take several factors into consideration and I have no doubt that will be done on this occasion before any decision is made on it,” he told Demerara Waves Online News.

Mr John cited the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Guyana’s Constitution and the Amerindian Act as the basis for requesting GECOM to remove the jaguar as a political party symbol because that animal is spiritually connected to the Arawaks who are known as the “jaguar people”. Arawa (Arwa) literally translated from Arawak to English is Jaguar. The Arawa (Arwa) is the symbol of the Arawakan Nation, the largest and most prominent group of Indigenous Peoples in Guyana.

“The Arawakan Nation, like every indigenous group, has always held the belief that much like Jesus, Mother Lakshmi, the Prophet Mohamed (Praise be upon his name), the Buddha and so many others, the Jaguar and Eagle are sacrosanct symbols of the many spirits we hold in reverence,” the NTC Chairman said.

The Chairman of the National Protected Areas Commission, Robert Persaud was the first government official to have condemned the jaguar’s use in political campaigning because it is a national symbol and protected species. “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,” he said last week in a public statement directed at GECOM.

Commissioner Alexander said the issue of the jaguar has put the seven-member election management authority to resolve a matter that was previously not before the commission. Mr Alexander said “unfortunately” PPPC-nominated Election Commissioner Clement Rohee did not want to discuss the principle but to focus merely on the NTC Chairman’s letter.

Mr Alexander questioned whether Mr John was speaking on behalf of the NTC, if there was a collective agreement or using his prerogative as Chairman to speak on behalf of the Amerindian village leaders. “This thing might be politicised because it is clear where John stands in terms of national politics,” he said.