Quoting the Bible in explaining article 161 of the Constitution

Feb 01, 2017 Letters

Dear Editor,
This is my final letter on the dispute in relation to the GECOM chairmanship. Anil Nandlall’s argument about, precedents as to past practice of former Opposition Leader, and, President in relation to the choice of GECOM chairman is flawed. Practice is no basis in constitutional law, or fact, for impugning the constitutionality of the act or judgement of the incumbent President upon a matter that involves his discretionary power. The super entrenched article 111(1) (a referendum only can take away this power) does not permit that. The argument about Mr. Hoyte and the practice of his list being acceptable to the then President is not helpful, indeed, it is constitutionally inadmissible.
Mr. Jagdeo is not some constitutional inheritor or beneficiary of Mr. Hoyte’s good-will, as fructified from his (Mr. Hoyte’s) practice of submission of a list that the then President found to be not unacceptable! With condign dismissiveness, I say that the precedents of acceptance of Mr. Hoyte’s list are but feeble proof, if any, of the acceptability of Mr. Jagdeo’s. Counsel’s whole case is as tenuous as the grounds on which he relies and argues.
And this cock and bull fiction peddled at the Umana Yana at the PPP public forum about some “consistent and settled interpretation” and “new interpretation” of the law by President Granger is nonsense
The plain truth is that our constitutional law does not permit the fettering of the discretion invested in this President by article 111(1), by some nebulous so called doctrine of precedent, practice or “settled interpretation”. In conclusion, I say this: Mr. Nandlall has rewritten the Constitution to subordinate the unfettered, unconditioned discretionary power of President Granger to the constitutionally conditioned power of Mr. Jagdeo.
This I subsume under one heading: “A naked usurpation of presidential authority, under the thin disguise of an inept interpretation of article 161(2), and resort to nebulous so-called doctrine of precedents”. Politics and Law make strange bed fellows. I am reminded of that biblical clarion counseling of Apostle Matthew; that no man can serve two masters or else he would be loyal to one and despise the other (Matthew 6 versus 24). For Counsel’s loyalty to the politics of the Leader of Opposition, the consequence is, despicable errors of law: in interpretation, and a constitutional hiatus, for which they bear total and absolute liability.
I must briefly mention a letter by Ronald J Daniels (“I disagree with President Granger’s interpretation of the Constitution on the GECOM issue” KN Thursday January 26, 2017). It is highly commendable for its historical political synopsis and perspective. But this is a matter of constitutional interpretation, (and it is not a repeal and enactment matter (when the mischief that was cured would be relevant). The letter demonstrates a total disregard for the juristic conception of inadmissiability of extraneous materials/evidence. It adopts the very method of constitutional interpretation disavowed by the Privy Council in Adegbenro (1963). That court of now high persuasion (until 1970 our final court) said relevantly “… and since the condition of constitutional action has been reduced to the formula of these words (article 161(2) in this GECOM matter) “it is their construction and nothing else that must determine the issue”.
I think the oppositionists would do their cause well by appreciating that in the event of the proviso to article 161(2) coming into operation in this matter, then the Constitution itself has denuded and removed Mr. Jagdeo of any role whatsoever in the appointment of the GECOM Chairman.
Maxwell E. Edwards
Attorney-at-Law

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Quoting the Bible in explaining article 161 of the Constitution

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