ProChancellor Misir’s letter is misleading and wrong

Dec 29, 2011 Letters

Dear Editor,
I refer to ProChancellor Misir’s letter in SN of December 25th.
ProChancellor says: (1)”The majority opposition is not the executive, and, therefore, not the government; likewise, the PPP/C government is not the legislature, and, therefore, not the parliament.”
The “government” in the United States (and indeed in every democracy) is defined as both “the executive and the Congress, legislature”. The ProChancellor’s statement is therefore misleading and wrong. (The ProChancellor should take Gov 101).
By definition, the president and his Cabinet, in Westminster model constitutions cannot survive without majority parliamentary support, hence the need in such cases for a “coalition government” to be formed. Guyana’s is a sort of hybrid Westminster model that does include something called the “confidence vote”, and further a parliamentary rule or law that requires all parliamentarians to vote strictly party line.
ProChancellor says: (2) “Under existing constitutional arrangements and given the election outcomes on November 28 last, the PPP/C remains the ruling party with legitimacy to execute its executive responsibility; and the majority opposition has the legitimacy to effect its legislative duty.”
Forget what the Constitution says. Dickens coined the phrase “the law is an ass”. This is one case where Dickens’ aphorism is wholly true. As a practical matter (given the parliamentary practices in Guyana), an Executive/Administration based on minority support in parliament is a contradiction and cannot survive, unless and until the Executive works out a deal with one or the other Opposition party to obtain their pledge of support.
When the ProChancellor says “the PPP remains the ruling party with legitimacy”, he should know the circumstances how this particular clause – namely, “the party with the largest plurality has a right to the presidency and shall form the Executive (Council of Ministers), comprising of its party members exclusively” – got into the Basic Law (it was a fraud imposed on the nation by a dictator), and they are at once contradictory, unworkable and meaningless.
This learned man (he is ProChancellor of the University) would make a fascinating study of himself and his methods of doing public relations work. He argues for legitimacy of a document which his party once despised and campaigned against. No matter how you twist and turn this thing, as Abraham Lincoln would say, this thing is impractical and unworkable.
Walter Bagehot, constitutional expert who explained constitutional principles and how they work would be turning in his grave if he only knew how these principles became corrupted in a document called the Guyana Constitution.
By law, the Opposition parliamentarians have to vote en bloc. Would President Ramotar expend all his time to work out a deal to get support of an Opposition bloc for individual bills? Or one based on broad support for a term – for all bills, for a program?
And, doesn’t this entail the need for a Coalition government (or call it what you will?)
Mike Persaud

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ProChancellor Misir’s letter is misleading and wrong

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