Jagdeo says no more PR meetings with the President

Feb 02, 2019 News

Describing his recent meeting with President David Granger as nothing short of a public relations stunt, Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo told the media, yesterday, that he would not be entertaining any further meetings with the Head of State unless they are about setting a date for the general elections.
Jagdeo ‘s comment comes one day after Chief Justice Roxane George handed down a ruling which confirmed that the no confidence motion passed in the National Assembly on December 21, 2018, is valid.
The ruling triggered provisions of Articles 106 (6) and 106 (7) of the Constitution which provides that elections should be held 90 days after the no-confidence is carried.
Jagdeo stressed that the three-month time frame prescribed by the Constitution must be rigidly observed and that Parliament must be dissolved unless otherwise agreed upon in accordance with Article 106 (7) of the Constitution.
“The Court has ruled. We expect the President to speak. He says he respects the Court and will abide by the ruling. The Court has spoken. So we expect the President to make an announcement in keeping with the Constitution of Guyana.
“Not doing so, would be showing great disrespect for our Constitution.
The President needs to speak now and name the date for elections and direct GECOM to start the preparation.”
According to Jagdeo, the last meeting with the President proved to be nothing but a gimmick.
The Opposition Leader later told the press that he will also meet with President Granger on other major issues.
“But any (other) meeting with the President would be to discuss matters of the elections… because we expect the government to comply with Chief Justice ruling and immediately start preparations for an election.”

President David Granger (right) and Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo in conversation at their last meeting

Given that the Chief Justice‘s decreed that the no confidence motion was passed on December 21, 2018, is valid, Jagdeo noted that the elections are due by mid –March, unless otherwise decided on members of the National Assembly.
Statements issued by both the government and opposition following their last meeting indicated a sharp division on how parliament would function.
While Government and the Opposition were unified on the territorial integrity of the country, there were differences.
According to the Government and Opposition, “The parties recognized the high importance of continuous engagements between the Government and Opposition, the importance they hold for the national interest and the elevated public expectation.”

During the talks, Jagdeo insisted that the “no confidence motion” was validly passed and therefore there must be compliance with Articles 106 (6) and 106 (7) of the Constitution.
Further, the Leader of the Opposition contended that while the Government remains in office in accordance with Articles 106(7) of the Constitution, its functions must be confined to the provision of essential services of the State and to matters in relation to preparation for General and Regional elections.”
In addition, the Leader of the Opposition emphasized that the National Assembly should only meet to deal with issues connected with the provision of essential services by the State and all matters related to the preparation of General and Regional elections.
On the other hand, President Granger emphasized that the Government is legal and that it must govern without any limitations on its authority.
“His Excellency further stated that there is no provision in the Constitution which imposes limitation on the Government to perform its lawful functions. The President indicated that the Government and the Opposition, by agreement in the National Assembly, can enlarge the time beyond the 90 days contemplated by Article 106 (7) of the Constitution.”
According to the joint statement, the President further stated that it is lawful for the Government to engage the Court, to bring clarity to the provisions of Article 106 (6) and 106 (7) of the Constitution.
“Pending the conclusion of the legal proceedings, Parliament remains functional. Both sides are committed to work towards the expeditious conclusion of the matters engaging the attention of the court,” the government had stated.

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