The Court of Appeal on Thursday dismissed the Forward Guyana Movement’s (FGM) appeal challenging the Guyana Elections Commission’s (GECOM) decision to exclude the party from the ballot in Regions Seven, Eight, and Nine during the September 1, 2025, elections.The judgment was handed down by Chancellor (ag.) Justice Roxane George, who stated that the appeal had no merit and affirmed that the court would not interfere with the cost order made by the High Court.She therefore ordered that the cost of the appeal be paid on or before November 14, 2025.The appeal followed a ruling by Chief Justice (ag) Navindra Singh that GECOM acted lawfully in excluding FGM and the Assembly for Liberty and Prosperity (ALP) from ballots in constituencies where they did not submit candidate lists.The appeal was filed by Krystal Fisher, who represented FGM and argued that the Chief Justice erred in law when he held that placing a political party on the ballot in a geographic constituency where it did not field candidates would undermine the constitutional objective of inclusivity and representation of smaller or more remote communities.Fisher also contended that it was unlawful for the FGM and ALP to be omitted from ballots and asked the Appeal Court to set aside the ruling, declare the omissions unconstitutional, and direct GECOM to ensure all qualifying political parties are included on ballots in every geographic constituency for future elections.In delivering the judgment, Chancellor George said, “This is not an appeal from an election petition and, as such, the court would have no jurisdiction to entertain it. For all intents and purposes, this would be the end of this appeal.”She emphasised that the court agreed with the Chief Justice’s decision, noting that the application had no merit.“Ballot access and therefore voting rights are limited to parties contesting the particular geographical constituency,” she said.The Chancellor further clarified, “One’s right to vote is not diminished if a political party that one supports decides not to contest the elections. GECOM did not deny the appellant ballot access as an elector, nor did it prevent her from contesting the elections as a candidate for FGM.”Addressing claims of discrimination, she added, “It cannot be considered to be discrimination against an elector on the grounds of race or place of origin if the political party of the elector’s choice decides not to contest the elections.”The ruling also noted that FGM had the opportunity to contest all constituencies but chose not to do so.“So FGM and ALP, which it seeks to also represent, declined to include themselves in the democratic processes of the elections in these constituencies. GECOM did not misinterpret, misapply, or violate any law in not placing these parties on the ballot where they decided not to compete,” Chancellor George said.The Appeal Court’s decision affirms that GECOM properly applied the Constitution and its procedures in preparing ballots for the September 1, 2025, elections. The post Appeal Court dismisses Forward Guyana Movement’s challenge against GECOM ballot exclusion appeared first on News Room Guyana.