Jagdeo tells Granger: I am calling for sanctions after March 21

Mar 07, 2019 News

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Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo has described yesterday’s meeting with President David Granger as an exercise in futility.
The Opposition Leader also said he informed the President that he would be calling for sanctions on the Coalition Government, after March 21, 2019.
He said he reminded the President that he would be invoking the same sanctions which Granger, as Leader of the Opposition, had called for in November 2014.
“The President has not given the Guyanese people any assurance that the imminent danger the country faces will be averted. Instead, the Parliamentary Opposition could only conclude that the President and his Government have and will continue to act in bad-faith, and, that the President is willing to subvert and violate the Constitution to suit his Government’s objective of staying in power beyond March 21, 2019,” the Opposition said in a statement after the meeting yesterday.
The meeting at the Ministry of the Presidency was supposed to find a solution on the ongoing situation following the December 21 no-confidence vote, which was deemed to be legal by the High Court, but is now being appealed.
One of the government parliamentarians, Charrandass Persaud, joined with the Opposition to vote yes.
Under the Constitution, the carrying of the vote has triggered early elections – within 90 days, which is supposed to end on March 21.
However, while Government insisted that the status quo remains until the court matters have been decided, the Opposition is holding its ground insisting that it will be an illegal government in place after March 21.
According to the Opposition Leader’s statement, the APNU+AFC (A Partnership For National Unity + Alliance For Change) Coalition Government becomes unconstitutional, illegal and illegitimate, after then.
“One would have expected that President David Granger, having invited the Leader of the Opposition to a meeting, on the eve of a constitutional crisis, after March 21, 2019, would have come to the meeting prepared to avert the impending constitutional crisis.”

Jagdeo insisted that nothing came out of it – it was futile.
Jagdeo said that he went into the meeting with some misgivings, only accepting the invitation in the national interest. He said he also proposed a reasonable and feasible solution to hold General and Regional Elections before the List of Electors expires on April 30, 2019.
“The Parliamentary Opposition and the entire population have been subjected to a series of “bad-faith” actions by the APNU+AFC Coalition Government, after the passage of the no-confidence motion on December 21, 2018. Regrettably, this meeting did not offer anything different.
The President repeated the views of the government-appointed Commissioners and his party leaders, and, reiterated his position that the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) had to set the date for elections, and, that he had to await GECOM’s readiness to hold elections.”
Jagdeo said that he told the President and his team that the GECOM, a creature of the Constitution, could not be above the Constitution, nor could it usurp the powers of the President to dissolve Parliament and summon elections at any time.
Jagdeo said his proposal for elections before April 30, 2019, an additional 50 days past the March 21, 2019 deadline, was doable.
The Opposition said that he is prepared to support GECOM in three actions – to have enhanced safeguards at the polling stations; to use selective tenders to allow it to fast-track procurement for the elections; and to simultaneously train additional elections day staff to meet that timeline.
“Mr. Jagdeo removed any doubt, if there was any, that were the Coalition Government to support a new national house-to-house registration process, which would delay the elections for at least another eight months, especially taking into consideration that the November 2018 Voters list, used in the Local Government Elections, was pronounced “clean” by GECOM’s Chief Elections Officer, and all the political parties contesting those elections accepted the list as credible, without any complaint, the Parliamentary Opposition would not support an extension past March 21, 2019, as required by 106 (7) of the Constitution.”
The Opposition Leader said that the President undertook to meet with GECOM and get back to him.
“However, it is clear that the three government-appointed Commissioners of GECOM, and the Chairman, are taking instructions from Congress Place. The positions being taken by the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), the Coalition Government, and these Commissioners are one and the same.”
Jagdeo insisted that no agreement was reached and no other issue was discussed.
“In conclusion, the Leader of the Opposition stated that until the date is settled, there was nothing further to discuss.”

 

 

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