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Lawyers file appeal in Compton Reid‘s no- confidence challenge

Feb 20, 2019 News

Lawyers representing Compton Reid, the private citizen who challenged the no- confidence motion passed in the National Assembly on December 21, last have filed the grounds to appeal against the ruling of the Chief Justice, (CJ) in relation to the matter.
According to the document issued by the Supreme Court Registry, Reid through his Attorneys, Rex Mc Kay, S.C Neil Boston S.C and Robert Corbin, expressed his dissatisfaction with the ruling of Chief Justice in relation to the case.
Despite declaring that expelled Alliance For Change (AFC) Parliamentarian Charrandass Persaud, who voted in favour of the no-confidence motion against the Coalition Government, is not qualified for elections as a member of the National Assembly on the basis of dual citizenship by virtue of his allegiance to Canada, a foreign power, Chief Justice Roxane George had ruled that his dual citizenship does not invalidate the no-confidence motion.
The judge was responding to declarations sought by private citizen, Compton Reid, who had asked the court to set aside the no-confidence motion on the ground that Persaud holds dual citizenship—being that he is a citizen of both Guyana and Canada.
Detailing the reasons for her findings, Chief Justice George said that there was evidence before the court to support that Persaud was born in Berbice and is the holder of a Guyana Passport.
She said that there is also evidence that Persaud is the holder of a Canadian passport, which he used to travel from time to time.
The judgments of the CJ had come after Government faced an opposition-tabled no-confidence motion.
In a shock vote, Government parliamentarian, Persaud sided with the Opposition with his single yes triggering a Constitutional crisis.
Government contended that the 33-32 vote which the Speaker ruled was carried could not have been a majority to have carried the vote.
It also contested the fact that MP Persaud had dual citizenship and therefore could not have sat in the National Assembly.
Government had said that it will appeal those judgments of January 31 and go all the way to the Caribbean Court of Justice.
The Opposition has been upping the pressure for early election with a 90-day period as a result of the no-confidence vote.
In his grounds of appeal, Reid is arguing that the Chief Justice misdirected herself and erred in law when she held that she could not overturn the motion on the basis that Persaud’s invalidity as a member of the National Assembly, since proceedings were protected by virtue of Article 165(2) of the Constitution.
The appellant noted that the Chief Justice had already determined that Persaud had disqualified from being a member of the National Assembly and by reason of that finding was incompetent to vote.
Reid is arguing that no Election’s Petition was needed in his challenge to Persaud’s vote.
He is claiming too that the CJ erred in her consistency by failing to grant orders sought in the application when she had earlier granted declarations by the applicant for constitutional relief.
“The judge misdirected herself by failing to consider false declaration made by Persaud in statutory declaration as a candidate on the list of the ruling coalition party.”
In previous filings, the Attorney General cited similar dissatisfaction of the Government over the judgments.
In their Notice of Appeal, it was argued that Government is dissatisfied with the ruling since the CJ “erred and misdirected herself in law when she ruled that on 21st December, 2018 the National Assembly of Guyana among other things.

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