Minister Ramjattan says...Government will not resign

Minister Ramjattan says…Government will not resign

Jan 05, 2019 Peeping Tom

“The country cannot be left without any government at all.” This was the assertion made by Second Vice President and Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan, as he delivered remarks during a televised interview shared by the state owned Department of Public Security last evening.
Ramjattan asserted that the possibility of the president or the government, for that matter, resigning is non-existent.
Ramjattan’s remarks come in wake of the recent no confidence motion which has caused many questions to be raised about the legality of the government. But Ramjattan sought to put all concerns to rest when he insisted that “a governance vacuum is never permitted” even in the face of a no confidence motion.
According to the Public Security Minister, who also holds the portfolio of Chairman of the Alliance for Change [AFC] Party which together with A Partnership for National Unity [APNU] makes up the government, the passage of the no confidence motion does not mean government is without power.
He insisted, “Government retains its full panoply of legal powers whether that be statutory, prerogative or common law and is with jurisdiction to exercise its legal authority.”
Ramjattan preceded his disclosure by referencing the decision of Speaker of the House, Barton Scotland, on Thursday to not review the no confidence motion as was requested by government. The Speaker instead ruled that the court should decide on the way forward.

Public Security Minister, Khemraj Ramjattan

But according to Ramjattan, “I think that in the Speaker’s view, his uncertainty as to the number of members which constitute a vote of the majority of all elected members of the National Assembly namely whether it is 34 or 33, has caused his moving towards a judicial interpretation.”
Ramjattan went on to add, during his televised deliberations, “Now there are some benefits about that…Such a judicial interpretation will bring finality to the matter for all and sundry. What is clear is that in the mean time from what the Speaker ruled, Article 106 (7) must apply because there has not been a resignation of the president nor the government, and neither will there be a resignation of the president nor the government.”
He continued by pointing out that “It is pellucid that the government of the day must remain in office for three months or such longer period as the National Assembly shall by resolution, supported by not less than two thirds of the votes, of all of the elected members of the National Assembly and shall resign only after the new president takes the oath on the following elections.”

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