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Jagdeo to meet with President Granger today
Despite the firm position he took last week that there will be no meeting unless it is about a date for elections, Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo will be shaking hands with President David Granger today.
The Office of the Leader of the Opposition indicated that yesterday afternoon, it received a reply from Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, stating that “the content of these letters has been conveyed to the President who advises that he is prepared to meet with you on Wednesday March 6th at 11:00 hours at the Ministry of the Presidency and to discuss the issues raised in your aforementioned letters.”
The missive read, “Many people believe that nothing positive will come out of the meeting tomorrow given the track-record of duplicity of the Granger administration thus far. The Opposition Leader shares some of these misgivings.
“Nevertheless, having been approached by many Guyanese, civil society bodies and members of the diplomatic corps to make one last attempt to avert the constitutional crisis that the President, with a complicit GECOM, is leading our nation into, the Leader of the Opposition is prepared to make one more good-faith attempt in the interest of the nation, and, will attend the meeting.
President David Granger
“This is the last attempt by the Parliamentary Opposition to offer the government a way out of the constitutional crisis and to keep Guyana in the democratic fold of nations.
“If the meeting fails, the true nature of the government will be seen by all those who urged the Opposition Leader to meet.
“Tomorrow will be a test of the integrity, credibility and sincerity of the President; he will be tested as to whether he can be trusted “as a man of his word” to put our nation, its future and its people first on a foundation of constitutional and parliamentary democracy. This will be a test as to whether the constitution or ‘power lust’ wins out.”
Based on a missive that was released from Jagdeo’s office, the President still has not indicated conclusively that he will be setting a date for General and Regional Elections now or soon.
The missive stated that Jagdeo “rejected” the grounds for meeting with the President as outlined in a letter dated February 25.
The president wanted to discuss “The National Assembly’s constitutional role in the present situation; and the Guyana Elections Commission’s readiness and requirement for funding to enable it to conduct General and Regional elections”.
Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo
“The Opposition rejected these grounds for the meeting in light of the apparent reluctance of the President to name a date for elections in accordance with article 106 (6) and 106 (7). Recognizing that the date of March 21, 2019 was fast approaching without any indication by the President nor GECOM to meet the three months deadline, the Leader of the Opposition offered a reasonable and feasible proposal to the President in the national interest and to prevent the country slipping into a constitutional crisis,” the missive read.
Jagdeo wrote, ““I am proposing to the President for his consideration, the following:- The date of the general and regional elections to be held before the expiration of the present voters’ list on April 30, 2019; No new contracts to be awarded by the State, including Regional Democratic Councils, and, State-owned corporations after March 21, 2019; No new agreements, loans, grants, land leases, or any other such agreements or contracts after March 21, 2019, that bind Government; No abuse of State resources for partisan activities/purposes; and Access to the State-owned media by all the contesting political parties.”
Jagdeo told President Granger that on the agreement of the Government to the proposals, the Parliamentary Opposition will be prepared to lend its support for the two-thirds majority required to comply with Article 106 (7) for an extension beyond March 21, 2019.
“I, therefore, am proposing that the meeting focus exclusively on the date for these elections. Further, l believe that my proposal to hold general and regional elections before April 30, 2019 is reasonable and feasible with a claims and objections period, provided that GECOM acts in good-faith and in conformity with its mandate and the Constitution.
This proposal will ensure that the Constitution remains intact and prevents our nation slipping into a constitutional crisis. If my proposal finds favour with the President, l shall be prepared to meet him on March 6, 2019 at 11:00 a.m. or at any other time.”
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