Attorney General hopes Opposition will grant two-thirds majority to extend election deadline

Jul 25, 2019 News

Government has not given up hope that the political Opposition, the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), will grant them the support that is needed in the National Assembly, to postpone the deadline for General and Regional Elections.

Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams

Because a motion of No Confidence was passed against the Government on December 21, 2018, the provisions of Article 106 have been activated. The final appeal brought to the Judiciary by Government had received a ruling from the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) on June 18, 2019.
The Court had ruled that the motion was validly passed, and the Opposition Leader consequently requested that elections be held before September 18, 2019 – three months after the ruling.
This, the Opposition purports to be in accordance with Article 106(7), which states “… notwithstanding its defeat, the government shall remain in office and shall hold an election within three months, or such longer period as the National Assembly shall by resolution supported by not less than two-thirds of the votes of all the elected members of the National Assembly determine, and shall resign after the President takes the oath of office following the election.”
Jagdeo has said time and time again that the Opposition will, under no circumstance, support an extension of the deadline. He has said, as well, that the Opposition will not go back to Parliament, and that all that’s left for the legislative body is its dissolution.
Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams, said that he hopes there will be a change of heart.
“The Leader of the Opposition [Bharrat Jagdeo] has been saying he’s not going back… Let’s hope that good sense prevails,” Williams said.
Further, the Attorney General said that such an extension shouldn’t be for just another three months.
“You must note that there’s nothing in the Constitution that says, when you go for the two-thirds extension [that] it has to be for another three months. That wouldn’t make sense.”
He said that, since there’s no legal precedent to dictate the period of such an extension, “there’s no limit on the period of extension when you go for two-thirds.”
To decide on a period of extension, Williams said that Government will have to get together with the Opposition, the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) and any other relevant stakeholders to “arrive at a definitive date for elections.”
“So when you go to Parliament, you know, you’ll get a definitive date. Not go and fix a three-months and then next thing you can’t make the three months, and you get a Constitutional crisis,” he added.
But in the event that Government doesn’t manage to get the support of the Opposition, Williams said that President David Granger will have to decide when to issue a proclamation to dissolve Parliament, and name a date for General and Regional Elections to be held.
“Fortunately for us, we’re under 106(7) and if there’s no two-thirds majority, you fall back on the President, who happens to be the person who has the power to name an election date, and also to dissolve Parliament.”

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