The Guyana Constitution must foster stability

Mar 30, 2019 Letters

DEAR EDITOR,

The constitution provides that, in order to be carried, a motion for the passing of ordinary bills simply needs more yeahs than nays in any sitting of the House. This means that a majority of at least one is required. It also provides that a no-confidence motion – one that seeks to remove a sitting government- needs the participation of all the elected members of the house, with a majority voting in favour. Again a majority of at least one will do.
Adherence to these criteria during the no-confidence vote on December 21, 2018, resulted in the motion being carried by a majority of one. This outcome, however, does not take into consideration the wider intent of the constitution – that the vote should also help to foster political stability during the five-year term of the government by ensuring to the extent possible that the replacement government cannot itself be easily removed.
To accomplish this goal, the vote ought to be of a higher standard of difficulty. Indeed, there may be various standards (majorities) and, the Guyana constitution expects its operators to define its own, and to also select a formula for achieving it.
On March 22, 2019 the court ruled that the formula for determining such a vote should be 65/2 rounded up + 1 = 34. The difficulty of a vote attaining such a standard in Guyana is good for stability and should continue to be upheld by the courts.
Fitzroy Collins

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