Nandlall dismisses Forward Guyana’s latest election petition as ‘hopelessly misconceived’
Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, has described the latest legal challenge filed by the Forward Guyana Movement (FGM) against the just concluded 2025 General and Regional Elections as “hopelessly misconceived” and “a collusive abuse of the court’s process.”
Speaking on his weekly programme Issues in the News, Nandlall recounted that FGM had already filed multiple unsuccessful cases attempting to block or challenge the elections. He noted that previous matters brought by the party’s representative, Crystal Fisher, were dismissed by both the High Court and the Court of Appeal, which found the cases to be without merit and an abuse of judicial time. Costs totaling $4 million were awarded against the applicants.
Despite those outcomes, Nandlall said the movement has now returned to the courts with what it calls an “election petition” filed in the name of Randolph Ritchie. However, he said the document fails to meet even the most basic procedural and legal requirements of a genuine election petition.
“This thing that they filed and are calling an election petition is not an election petition,” Nandlall declared. “They have violated almost every rule and procedural requirement surrounding the preparation, form, and filing of such a petition. It is woefully deficient, and one can predict with virtual certainty that it will be struck out.”
The Attorney General explained that election petitions are a unique and highly technical form of litigation governed by strict procedural rules. Any error in form or process, he noted, is considered fatal and cannot be corrected once filed.
“Election petitions are extraordinary in nature because they question the validity of an election, and by extension, the legitimacy of a government and the composition of Parliament,” he said. “When you move to challenge such mighty institutions, you must come good. This type of litigation does not permit mediocrity or mistakes. When you err, you go.”
Nandlall confirmed that both his Chambers and the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) have been named as respondents in the matter, and that his office is already preparing to apply for the petition to be struck out.
He also questioned the legal competence of the FGM’s leadership, particularly its head, who he noted is a lawyer. “It is surprising that someone with legal training would file a document so fundamentally flawed,” Nandlall said. “You cannot simply label something an election petition and expect it to become one.”
The Attorney General reiterated that while citizens have the right to challenge elections, they must do so “diligently and competently.” He emphasized that repeated frivolous filings waste judicial resources and undermine confidence in the electoral and legal systems.
At the conclusion of his remarks, Nandlall stated that he intends to move for costs to be awarded once again against the applicants, adding that the pattern of baseless litigation must not continue unchecked.
