THERE IS NO PROVISION FOR AN ACTING LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION

May 24, 2009 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

One of the memorable moments of this year’s Summit of the Americas was the sight of the President of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, presenting the President of the United States of America with a copy of a book which details the imperial policies of the West in Latin America.
This book will be a constant reminder to President Obama that while he was not the personal architect of those policies, he cannot escape the responsibility of dismantling the legacy of those policies.

In Guyana, someone needs to present our own President Jagdeo with a book. In this instance, the present should be the Constitution of Guyana and there should be a special bookmark at Article 184 which deals with the appointment of the Leader of the Opposition, or as it was humiliatingly referred to under Burnham’s 1980 Constitution, the Minority Leader.
The President of Guyana seems to be of the belief that the process of having someone deputize as Leader of the Opposition is as simple as when someone acts as President during his absence from the country. He seems to be of the delusion that it is within the power of the main opposition party, the PNCR, to appoint a Leader of the Opposition.

A copy of the Constitution of Guyana and particularly reference to Article 184 should allay these misgivings.
Article 184 provides as follows:
184. (1) The Leader of the Opposition shall be elected by and from among the nongovernmental members of the National Assembly at a meeting held under the chairmanship of the Speaker of the National Assembly, who shall not have the right to vote.

(2) The office of the Leader of the Opposition shall become vacant if:
a) the holder thereof ceases to be a member of the Assembly for any cause other than the dissolution of Parliament;
(b) he is not a member of the Assembly when the Assembly first meets after the dissolution of Parliament;
(c) by virtue of article 156(2) or(3) he is required to cease to exercise his functions as a member of the Assembly; or
(d) his removal from office is effected under the provisions of the next following paragraph.

(3) Where one third of the nongovernmental members of the Assembly represent to the Speaker that the Leader of the Opposition no longer enjoys their confidence, the speaker shall call a meeting of all the nongovernmental members at which it shall be decided whether the Leader of the Opposition shall be removed from office; the removal shall be effected by the votes of a majority of all the nongovernmental members.

(4) The election and removal from office of the Leader of the Opposition shall be by a show of hands.
The PNCR, therefore, does not have any automatic right to the position of Leader of the Opposition and the Constitution does not provide for the main opposition to find someone to deputize for the Leader of the Opposition. It is not the responsibility of the PNCR to have someone deputize for Mr. Corbin. The Constitution does not allow this.

The Constitution makes no provision for someone to act as Leader of the Opposition should the incumbent be sick. Therefore for all intents and purposes, Mr. Robert Herman Orlando Corbin remains the Leader of the Opposition and cannot be substituted by his party. Only the National Assembly can appoint a Leader of the Opposition and only on the expressed grounds and following the correct procedure as laid down in the Constitution.
Mr. Corbin can only be removed as Leader of the Opposition if he is no longer a member of the National assembly or if he fails to enjoy the confidence of one third of the non-governmental members of the National Assembly.

The question, therefore, of someone acting as Leader of the Opposition in the absence from Guyana of Mr. Corbin, is not contemplated by the Constitution. Thus, since the same Constitution requires that the President of Guyana consults with the Leader of the Opposition in the appointment of the Chairperson of the Integrity Commission, and if the incumbent Leader of the Opposition is, as is the case, ill and out of the jurisdiction, then the President of Guyana cannot simply, as much as this may expedient, go ahead and appoint the Chairperson of the Integrity Commission without first having consulted with the Leader of the Opposition who is Mr. Robert Corbin.