Constitutional compliance, Elections preparations to headline meeting with President

Constitutional compliance, Elections preparations to headline meeting with President – Jagdeo

Jan 07, 2019 News

Opposition leader Bharrat Jagdeo has said that the compliance with the Constitution in relation to the no- confidence motion and preparation for free and fair elections will be the main issue on the agenda of the meeting with the President on January 9.
His response came on the heels of a response from Government as it regards his request for a meeting with the President.
In the letter, Minister of State Joseph Harmon had enlightened Jagdeo that “His Excellency the President will meet with you on 2019.01.09 at 11:00 hours at the Ministry of the Presidency.”
In the letter, too, Harmon noted that “it would be appreciated if you indicate the matters you wish to place on the agenda for the said meeting.”

Opposition leader, Bharrat Jagdeo

The Opposition Leader had indicated his interest in meeting with the Head of State on the heels of the No Confidence motion of Friday December 21, 2018 which went in favour of the opposition 33 – 32. The motion of no confidence in the government was submitted by Jagdeo himself.
The opposition was able to clinch the victory over the government side owing to the fact that AFC Member of Parliament, Charrandass Persaud, opted to vote in support of the opposing side.
Persaud has since been expelled from the Alliance for Change [AFC] party] which makes up the A Partnership for National Unity + AFC Coalition government.
With the no confidence motion gaining traction following Government’s defeat, this means that constitutionally, new general elections must be called within three months unless a later date could be agreed upon.
But Opposition Leader [Jagdeo] had expressed concern about the “integrity of the elections” should it be held within the given time frame and had thus stressed the need to meet with President Granger to deliberate on the way forward. In a statement on the issue, Jagdeo further accused the government of acting in bad faith and doing everything to undermine this collaborative approach.
“The Government has since reneged on the public statements accepting the passage of the no confidence motion using the most ludicrous arguments – which a 34/31 votes…. We will however still keep an open mind on issues of governance despite the bad faith approach and concerted attempts by the Coalition to squander the goodwill for progress and mature, sensible behaviour, “the Opposition leader stated.