The nominees are Senior Counsel Roysdale Forde, attorney Siand Dhurjon and attorney Damien DaSilva.
Opposition Chief Whip Tabitha Sarabo-Halley confirmed to Kaieteur News that Mohamed’s letter was dispatched to the President on Tuesday after he completed consultations with opposition stakeholders.
She explained that while the Opposition Leader initiated consultations by writing to opposition leaders, including Aubrey Norton, chairman of the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and Amanza Walton, leader of the Forward Guyana Movement (FGM) and its lone Member of Parliament, he ultimately retained the three nominees he had initially proposed.
“We had to go through the process of consultation, so that letter that was sent to Mr. [Aubrey] Norton and to Amanza [Walton] was to start the consultation process,” Sarabo-Halley told Kaieteur News.
She said that although Mohamed invited recommendations from the parliamentary opposition and considered Walton’s proposal, he decided to proceed with his original slate of nominees.
Walton had nominated Nigel London on behalf of the Forward Guyana Movement.
According to Sarabo-Halley, the Opposition is now awaiting the President’s response before deciding on its next course of action.
Mohamed first signalled his intention last month when he wrote to opposition leaders advising them that he was considering recommending the three attorneys to represent the parliamentary opposition on GECOM and invited them to submit their views.
In his correspondence, Mohamed argued that the matter requires urgent attention given GECOM’s constitutional responsibility to conduct Local Government Elections at the earliest opportunity.
He also cited Article 161(3)(b) of the Constitution, arguing that the Opposition Leader’s advisory role is intended to ensure that the parliamentary opposition enjoys meaningful representation and confidence within the Elections Commission.
“The constitutional purpose would be substantially undermined if the largest parliamentary opposition were indefinitely bound by appointments purportedly made at the instance of the former opposition leadership representing a different political mandate,” Mohamed wrote.
He further stated that he has received legal advice that the tenure of the three opposition-appointed commissioners has effectively come to an end following the 2025 General and Regional Elections, which fundamentally altered the composition of the parliamentary opposition.
According to Mohamed, the Constitution contemplates that the offices of the opposition-appointed commissioners have become vacant “by operation of law” because of the new parliamentary configuration.
He noted that the current opposition commissioners—Vincent Alexander, Charles Corbin and Desmond Trotman—were nominated by a previous Leader of the Opposition representing a different political party and political mandate.
“The appointments of the previous commissioners… were advised upon by the previous opposition leader from a different political party, and they do not reflect the makeup of the opposition’s parliamentary configuration at present,” Mohamed stated.
The nominations follow earlier comments by GECOM Chairperson, retired Justice Claudette Singh, who indicated that she was awaiting action from the Leader of the Opposition before the Commission could move forward with a full complement of opposition-appointed members.
Speaking to Kaieteur News in May, Singh said she had informed Mohamed that he needed to submit the names of his nominees.
“The new opposition leader has not yet… We told him, you have to submit the names of your commissioners. He has not done so,” she said at the time.
Singh added that Mohamed had indicated he already had persons in mind for the appointments but had not formally submitted the names.
“We’re waiting on him. He has the names as commissioners,” she said.
The issue arose after the 2025 General and Regional Elections, in which We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) won 16 of the Opposition’s 29 seats in the National Assembly, making it the largest opposition party. Mohamed subsequently assumed the constitutional office of Leader of the Opposition.
However, Aubrey Norton has rejected Mohamed’s position, maintaining that there are no vacancies among the opposition-appointed commissioners.
“As I have said before, no vacancy exists, as far as I am aware. Unless the current commissioners die or resign, those seats are filled,” Norton said.
He has argued that there is no constitutional or legal basis for requiring the existing opposition-appointed commissioners to vacate their positions solely because a different political party now constitutes the parliamentary opposition.
President Ali has not publicly indicated whether he will act on Mohamed’s nominations.
