WIN again threatens to force out GECOM APNU commissioners, end Region 10 stalemate

Last Updated on Saturday, 28 February 2026, 1:08 by Writer

The main opposition We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) on Friday again said it would be going to the High Court to force the three A Partnership for National Unity (APNU)-aligned election commissioners out of office because there is a new main opposition party that needs to be represented on the seven-member Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).

WIN executive member and Opposition Chief Whip, Tabitha Sarabo-Halley told a news conference that her party was in talks with its lawyers on the GECOM makeup as well as the stalemate in Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Upper Berbice) over the election of a chairman, and the apparent refusal by the Regional Executive Officer, Dwight John to call another meeting of the councillors who were elected in last September’s general and regional elections.

Though the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPPC) and APNU appear to be preparing for local government elections in the coming months, GECOM has not met in recent months as its Chairman, Retired Justice Claudette Singh has not summoned the commissioners because she believed that the three existing opposition commissioners have lost their mandate, according to Ms Sarabo-Halley.

Ms Sarabo-Halley did not say how soon lawsuits would be filed, but said now that efforts have failed to resolve those matters through dialogue, resorting to the court was now the lone option. “So we are having discussions with lawyers on it….and I think I agree with you that now is the right time for court action,” she said.

She said the WIN and Opposition Leader, Azruddin Mohamed were also in favour of court action.

So far, the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR)-led APNU and the election commissioners – Vincent Alexander, Charles Corbin and Desmond Trotman – have resisted WIN’s demands to resign unless the law is amended or the court decides.

WIN is banking on its main parliamentary opposition party status for representation on GECOM.

APNU has 12 seats.

The WIN on Friday also frowned on what it said were APNU’s efforts to secure more shadow ministerial portfolios greater than its parliamentary proportional representation in the overall 29-member opposition which includes the one-seat Forward Guyana Movement (FGM).

That party also again registered its disappointment that none of its Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) councillors was submitted by the APNU representative to sit on regional sectoral committees.

“WIN stands for proportional fairness in regional committees, respect for constitutional authority in parliament and institutional integrity over political maneuvering. We are open to cooperation, yes. We are not open to structural diminishment,” Ms Sarabo-Halley said.

She added that the electorate had already determined the hierarchy within the opposition and so attempts to artificially manufacture relevance by demanding parity where none exist would not be facilitated by WIN.

She said “Democracy requires clarity.”

Ms Sarabo-Halley said APNU was yet to come to grips with the fact that it was no longer the main opposition party. “It requires respect for mandate and it requires that emerging political forces are not structurally suppressed through coordinated maneuvering. WIN will continue to act responsibly, constitutionally and in defense of the democratic will of the people,” she said.