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Guyanese must be vigilant to guard our democracy
DEAR EDITOR,
As everyone knows the APNU/AFC government tried to overturn the passage of the motion of no-confidence brought against it by the Opposition Leader, Doctor the Hon. Bharrat Jagdeo. They first unsuccessfully tried to get the Speaker of the National Assembly, Doctor The Hon. Barton Scotland to reverse himself and rule that the motion was not properly passed. With admirable impartiality, the Speaker refused to change his decision.
In a desperate bid to hang on to power at any cost, the Government moved to the Court seeking declarations that the motion was not properly passed because it required a vote of 34 members of the National Assembly. It essentially argued the majority of the 65 members in the Assembly was 34 and not the 33 who voted in favour.
The Hon. Chief Justice on February 6, released the transcript of her oral opinion given on January 31. She forcefully rejected the government’s position, at times insinuating the arguments advanced by the government were an insult of the intelligence of most right-thinking persons. The government relied on an obscure case from Vanuatu, which has a completely different constitution from that of Guyana.
With the passage of the motion of no-confidence, the Constitution required the resignation of the President and Cabinet, and the calling of new elections within ninety days, or by March 21st. The government argued that it was not practical for the President and the Cabinet to resign, as it wanted to exhaust all its appeals in the Court of Appeal and the Caribbean Court of Justice. The Chief Justice ruled that the Constitution is very clear and that she saw no exigencies that would shorten that period.
The government tried to convince the Court to issue an Order that would freeze everything until its appeals are exhausted. The government strenuously argued for such an Order, but the Opposition was forcefully against it. The Court refused to grant such an Order, which means the elections MUST be held by March 31, 2019.
There have been reports in the press that GECOM does not see itself for elections until sometime in July 2019. So, GECOM feels it has more powers than the Speaker of the National Assembly and the Hon. Chief Justice? Local Government elections were held about six months ago using the same list.
A suspicious person could conclude that there is a conspiracy between GECOM and the government to postpone elections as long as they could.
The position adopted by the government and GECOM does not bode well for the future. The Constitution and the voice of the people do not matter to them. Why is the APNU/AFC government afraid to hold prompt elections?
Guyanese must be vigilant to guard our democracy. It is pleasing that the international community appears to be concerned and is watching developments in Guyana. But, we Guyanese have to stand up and be counted. We do not need a Maduro-type government. Democracy must prevail!
Sincerely,
Randy Depoo
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