President Ramotar not Donald Ramotar is the Head of State

Jun 15, 2012 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

It is sad that the President of a country can make such a fundamental mistake about the elementary principles of modern government. Donald Ramotar did this when he spoke about the opposition in Parliament. The PPP has a leader. His name is Donald Ramotar. When that said man, Mr. Ramotar, won the plurality of votes in the last general election and became the President of Guyana, he became the Head of State not the PPP Head of State.
Mr. Ramotar is the leader of the PPP, but he has another role which is separate and distinct from his political office. He is the elected Head of Government and State. A citizen that belongs to the AFC or APNU cannot refer to Mr. Ramotar as the PPP leader of the country, he is not. He is the constitutional head of government.
On that identical basis, the President and the State have to recognize that there is a Parliament. When that Parliament acts, it is not the APNU or AFC acting. It is the Parliament. When Parliament passes laws, it is not laws passed by the opposition. They were approved by Parliament.
The statement by President Ramotar that he will not assent to legislation without input from the Executive is derecognizing Parliament when the House performs its function as Parliament. When the National Assembly passes a law it is not the opposition that does so, it is Parliament. One would have hoped that after so long in Parliament, Mr. Ramotar would understand how the Constitution works.
There is no legal concept in Guyana that goes by the name of an opposition GECOM Commissioner. There are six GECOM Commissioners. That is what they are – GECOM Commissioners. When PNC leader Robert Corbin sought to remove Mr. Vincent Alexander as a GECOM Commissioner he could not do so, because Alexander was not a PNC Commissioner that could be recalled by the PNC. Only Parliament could remove a GECOM Commissioner.
There aren’t words to describe President Ramotar’s understanding of the separation of powers. The President is saying that the Executive must have an input in laws passed by Parliament. If the Executive cannot do so then the Executive will not approve of the documents Parliament legislated upon. There is no law or constitutional article that allows that to happen.
When Parliament approves a Bill it does not have to seek the input of the Executive. For the purpose of practical politics, it can do so, but it does not have to. The Executive cannot go on not assenting to Bills on the basis of lack of Executive input. It can reject Bills based on their contents, not on lack of Executive participation. Nowhere in the world does this happen.
What the President doesn’t understand is that the power of the Executive and Parliament are derived from the will of the people in an election. The will of the population gives the Executive the power to govern. The very will gives the Parliament the authority to draft and pass laws. This is the priceless separation of powers that John Locke adumbrated and is so pronounced in the constitutions of India and the USA
Why should any citizen recognize the jurisdiction of President Ramotar? If you ask a schoolchild he/she will tell you that Mr. Donald Ramotar was elected as President of Guyana. By the identical process, Guyana’s 10th Parliament was shaped by the votes of the electorate. If there is a concept of the opposition in Parliament which Mr. Ramotar alluded to when he said he will not assent to Bills passed by the opposition, then there has to be a concept of the PPP inside the presidency.
If the Executive cannot accept a majority opposition in Parliament that is legally elected, then why should that opposition accept a PPP-led Executive?
The essential weakness of the governmental leaders since the 2011 elections is they are claiming legal legitimacy for the basis of their power, but denying the very legal validity to an elected Parliament. This has serious and dangerous implications for the stability of the country, especially State employees and the security forces.
Why should State employees and the public sector realm recognize the legitimacy of the Executive only and not that of the supreme organ of the land, Parliament? And if the Executive branch denies the legal basis of Parliament’s right to make legislation, where does that leave State employees whose duty is to uphold the legal documents of the land, the most important of which is the Constitution?

Latest News

President Ramotar not Donald Ramotar is the Head of State

Related

Similar Articles

The Glenn Lall Show | November, 20th, 2024

Follow on Tik Tok @Glennlall

THE BLUNT OF THE DAY

Sports

Welcome and Sattaur hat-tricks power West Ruimvelt’s emphatic win

Mominul, Jaker help Bangladesh avoid follow on

Rutherford’s stunning century in vain as...

Bentick’s hat-trick lifts YMCA to $1M and...

Final batch of tickets for opening match released

NSC to host National Awards Ceremony on Thursday

Features/Columnists

The business class also funds undemocratic parties

Rising Gun Crimes in the Caribbean: Urgent Action required by all

Too many sharks too close for comfort

Publisher’s Note

Weekend Cartoon

Bridge Watch

Demerara Harbour Bridge

> Berbice Bridge […]

President Ramotar not Donald Ramotar is the Head of State

Share this:

Related

Similar Articles

The Glenn Lall Show | November, 20th, 2024

Follow on Tik Tok @Glennlall

THE BLUNT OF THE DAY

Sports

Features/Columnists

Publisher’s Note

Weekend Cartoon

Bridge Watch

Demerara Harbour Bridge

> Berbice Bridge […]