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Govt., Opposition meet on no-confidence vote… Parliament, executive branch to continue functioning – Court decisions will be upheld – GECOM to be engaged over elections
Almost three weeks after a shock no-confidence vote by Government parliamentarian, Charrandass Persaud, saw the related motion carried, sparking a constitutional crisis, a key meeting was held yesterday in an effort to chart the way forward.
According to President David Granger afterwards, broad agreements have been met that will set the conditions on how the Government and Parliament will continue to function.
In the meantime, Government will continue to pursue action in the courts, challenging the validity of the vote, and whether the fact that Persaud’s dual citizenship with Canada could have also affected the legality of it.
Since the no-confidence vote on the evening of December 21st, both the Government and Opposition have been drawing battle lines, with the latter calling for elections to be announced and for the government to resign.
However, there are indications, based on the meeting and statements coming out after, that early elections may not be so early after all.
Let’s talk: The parties during the meeting at the Ministry of the Presidency yesterday.
According to President Granger in a statement, following the meeting, Government officials and representatives of the Opposition of the National Assembly met yesterday at the Ministry of the Presidency to examine two main issues.
Other ministers present at the meeting were Prime Minister, Moses Nagamootoo; Minister of State, Joseph Harmon; Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams, SC.; Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan; Minister of Social Protection, Amna Ally; Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carl Greenidge.
The Opposition members included Juan Edghill, Gail Teixeira, Anil Nandlall, Odinga Lumumba, Dr. Frank Anthony, Pauline Sukhai and Irfaan Ali.
Granger explained that the first issue is the function of the National Assembly, with the other being the function of the government. He said that it was stressed that neither of these two important institutions, legislative branch and executive branch, could be allowed to fail.
“Public services have to be delivered, public order has to be maintained, and therefore the two sides reached broad agreement on how these two institutions – legislative branch and executive branch – will continue to function.”
The President also disclosed that the second important issue discussed was General and Regional Elections. He made it clear that the outcome of the courts will play a major role in what happens next.
“As you know the government has had legal recourse to the courts in order to determine the validity of the vote in the National Assembly on the 21st of December. This is quite legitimate and there is no intention on the part of the government to derail the constitutional or legislative process.”
The President also said that it was agreed that the two sides will continue to work together to engage the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to ensure that polls are held within the “administrative capabilities” of the commission.
The Head of State stressed that the meeting was a successful engagement, with both the leader of the Opposition and the President concerned about the situation.
“We would like to assure the public of Guyana that we are working to a solution which they will be satisfied with, the public interest is our paramount concern.”
The no-confidence vote had been filed by Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo, who cited poor performance, failure to live up to campaign promises and corruption as some of the reasons.
On the evening of December 21, after hours of debate, one lone MP, Charrandass Persaud, shook the house by voting yes with the Opposition.
With the one-seat majority, the vote was said to be carried.
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