Guyana Elections Com-mission (GECOM) commissioner Bibi Shadick has moved to the High Court to challenge the activation of seven new local government areas (LGAs) and the restructuring of 14 others, saying that unlawful actions taken by both the Communities Minister and the Chief Election Officer would render all voting in them at the upcoming November 12th polls void.
By way of an application for judicial review—the first known one since the recent operationalisation of the Judicial Review Act—Shadick has asked the court to grant orders quashing decisions made by both Communities Minister Ronald Bulkan and Chief Election Officer (CEO) Keith Lowenfield and ordering them to rectify their violations.
For his part, Bulkan yesterday maintained that he has acted within the ambit of the law and dismissed the case as baseless, while adding that the opposition PPP, of which Shadick is a member, by its actions and track record has demonstrated to the Guyanese people that it has no interest in local democracy. “They are unprepared to lead so they will either have to follow or step aside,” he added.
