GEORGETOWN, Guyana — Two high-profile legal attempts to shake the foundation of Guyana’s Proportional Representation (PR) electoral system have fallen flat in the courtroom, following a ruling by Chief Justice (ag.) Roxane George that dismissed the challenges as meritless.
On Tuesday, Justice George delivered a strongly worded decision rejecting claims by accountant Christopher Ram and politician Vishnu Bandhu that the PR system — specifically its requirement for political parties to contest both geographical and national top-up seats — violates constitutional rights and unfairly sidelines smaller candidates.
In a ruling that reaffirmed the legal and constitutional basis of Guyana’s decades-old electoral framework, the Chief Justice said there was simply no evidence that the system breached Article 25 of the Constitution or any other rights provision.
“The Constitution and the Representation of the People Act (ROPA) must be read together,” she explained from the bench, “and Section 11C makes it clear — contesting only geographical constituencies would distort the proportionality that the system is designed to achieve.”
The court was not persuaded by arguments that the system places undue burdens on independent or smaller players in the political space. Instead, Justice George underscored that Guyana’s electoral structure was built on years of constitutional reform and public consultation, intended to balance representation across the diverse political landscape.
But the ruling didn’t just reaffirm the status quo. It came with financial consequences. Ram was ordered to pay $500,000 in court costs to the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), while Bandhu must pay $250,000 each to both GECOM and Attorney General Anil Nandlall.
Calling the matter a “misuse of judicial resources,” the judge’s ruling reflects growing frustration within the legal system over politically charged lawsuits that, in the eyes of the court, lack substance.
Attorney General Nandlall, who has been vocal about the case since its filing, welcomed the judgment. “This was nothing more than a fishing expedition,” he said during his weekly programme, Issues in the News. “We reject frivolous lawsuits from those who cannot gather the public support needed to contest through proper channels.”
The ruling signals a significant moment in Guyana’s ongoing debate over political participation, electoral fairness, and the role of the courts in interpreting a system many believe still needs reform. But for now, the structure remains intact — with the courts reinforcing that meaningful change, if desired, must come through constitutional amendment, not litigation.
