Latest update November 15th, 2026 10:45 AM
Et tu, Lincoln?
DEAR EDITOR,
For many years, I have followed the writings and activism of Lincoln Lewis, there are times our views coincided and times when they diverged, however, never before Sunday and yesterday have I seen Mr. Lewis depart from the realm of good sense and logic.
By claiming that the Caribbean Court of Justice did not specify a date or deadline for General Elections and that omission equates to non-existence of a precise timeline, Mr. Lewis joins those who have chosen to ignore the fact that a No-confidence motion has been adjudicated as validly passed as of 21st December and consequences paused until June 18th, 2019.
Lincoln Lewis often called for consultations between government and civil society as outlined in Article 13 of the Guyana Constitution where it states, “the principal objective of the system of the State is to establish an inclusionary democracy by providing increasing opportunities for the participation of citizens and their organizations in the management and decision-making processes of the State, with particular emphasis on those areas of decision-making that directly affect their well-being.”
Lewis is now turning his back on our Constitution and his reputation for being a normally sensible voice of and for civil society, by ignoring the fact that Article 106 sets a three-month timeframe for elections, and this is precisely what the CCJ means when it says “Article 106 of the Constitution invested the President and the National Assembly (and implicitly in GECOM), responsibilities that impact on the precise timing of the elections which must be held. It would not, therefore, be right for the Court, by issuance of coercive orders or detailed directives, to presume to instruct these bodies on how they must act and thereby pre-empt the performance of their constitutional responsibilities.” The CCJ ruled against every aspect of the Granger administration’s case challenging the validity of the No-confidence motion. Costs in millions were awarded to the lawyers representing the Leader of the Opposition; Counsel for the Government of Guyana and GECOM were subject to cringe-worthy insults.
Did we really want the CCJ to say anything more explicit than “these particular provisions require no gloss on the part of the Court in order to render them intelligible and workable. Their meaning is clear and it is the responsibility of constitutional actors in Guyana to honour them. Upon the passage of a vote of no confidence, the Article requires the resignation of the Cabinet including the President. The article goes on to state, among other things, that notwithstanding such resignation, the Government shall remain in office and that an election shall be held “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 …”
President Granger used the cover of Judicial action to legitimise the life of his administration past March 21st, 2019; that cover was removed by the ruling of the CCJ that stated the ‘pause’ had ended with its decision of June 18th, 2019 that validated the passage of the No-confidence motion and which reset the three-month clock for General Elections.
What more can the Chief Justice tell us that have not already been pronounced upon by our highest court? The Judiciary has already been exposed as impotent in the coercive department, the CCJ appealing to the ‘integrity’ of, and ‘responsible’ behaviour of political and constitutional actors, very cognizant of its inability to coerce a resistant executive arm of Government.
To see this disrespect for our Constitution and the Rule of Law as the basis for governance supported by any member of Civil society is a stab in the back for us all. Et tu, Lincoln?
Respectfully
Robin Singh
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