Prorogation will not address the Constitutional crisis

Nov 09, 2014 AFC Column, Features / Columnists

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Will there be a debate on the No Confidence Motion tabled by the Alliance For Change or will the Donald Ramotar Administration avert the ignominy of being the first Government to be defeated in the Assembly by dissolving Parliament?
Or will the PPP Administration do the spineless thing and prorogue Parliament to reconvene the House when it believes it would have bought enough votes?
These questions will soon be answered and Guyanese will know whether we head back to the Polls or enter a period of extra-parliamentary dictatorship.
The President has announced that he would prorogue or dissolve Parliament rather than face the No Confidence Motion. Given that passage of the No Confidence Motion would certainly result in General Elections, the President’s announcement can only be interpreted that his Party wants to avoid facing the electorate at the polls. Therefore, it is very likely that he would prorogue Parliament.
According to the Constitution, Parliament can be prorogued for as long as six months. Prorogation acts as a suspension of the National Assembly by Presidential proclamation. During this time, members of the National Assembly do not meet, there is no oversight of the Government, no censorship, no scrutiny. The Government would have six months to do as it pleases.
Following the prorogation, the President can reconvene the Assembly and if still faced with the No Confidence Motion, he could then dissolve Parliament and announce General Elections three months hence. He would have secured for the PPP, nine months within which they would not be held accountable to the National Assembly.
Given the PPP’s track record in relation to public spending, this is a very frightening prospect. Remember, it was the Government’s abuse of the national coffers, when they wilfully and intentionally spent monies totalling some $4.5 billion that the National Assembly had voted not to approve, that eventually prompted the Alliance For Change to table the No confidence Motion. Of course, there were a number of other matters which, when taken collectively provoked the AFC into taking the course of action it did. There was the failure of the Government to consult the Opposition on successive national budgets, blatant disregard for the Constitution, contempt for the National Assembly, and other matters.
The Tenth Parliament as presently composed, with the Opposition holding the majority votes, created for the first time in the history of the nation an environment where the Government was held accountable and a platform for negotiation and compromise amongst leaders.
The people expected that the Parties would work together and whether they were supporters of the Government or of the Opposition, they would be a part of the national decision-making process through their representatives in the Assembly, and they would have an equitable share in the national pie. For the people, it was considered the best possible solution for ensuring the interests of all the people are taken into account and not just those of the supporters of the ruling Party.
For too long, elections in Guyana resulted in one of the two largest racial groups feeling they have no part or say in the affairs of this country. It has always been a sort of ‘we or them’ contest, with the Amerindians and Mixed constituency being courted if only to ensure a majority. In the periods between elections, the incumbent  would pander to the needs of communities of its supporters; building schools and hospitals, bridges, repairing roads, providing water and electricity and other services and generally ensuring its constituency is ‘taken care of’, fuelling the concept of ‘Government for its supporters’.
As cultural and racial barriers deteriorate and people become more conscious of the power of their vote; thanks to technologies that allow us to see what happens in real democracies, the Guyanese electorate have come to understand that they deserve an equitable share of the national pie, regardless of their political affiliation.
Herein rests the answer to a truly nationalistic government. It demands a ruling Party with the wisdom and maturity to accept that it cannot govern alone and that the decision-making process on matters of State must be seen as reflective of all of society. This is the type of governance model the AFC will bring to the Guyanese public. A model built around consultation and compromise, where space is created so leaders from the political sphere, civil society, the Diaspora, are accommodated and encouraged to contribute to the development of this country. This is new generation politics, where the nation’s interests are addressed and taken forward not by a select few, but by an alliance of the willing.

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