Such reckless, ill-informed commentary, cannot be allowed to stand unchallenged

Aug 27, 2019 Letters

DEAR EDITOR,

In a recent edition of the Kaieteur News, Mr. Oscar Dolphin spouted some of the most ill-informed points of view that I have seen in recent times in a letter, under the headline ‘The government is not illegal’.
Mr. Dolphin ignores accepted points of fact, which are now known to most all Guyanese. I will highlight a few aspects of his letter, to demonstrate how far from reality Mr. Dolphin seems to have comfortably settled.
His very first point, the no-confidence motion was unsuccessful, has to be the most bewildering thing I read. The apex Court of Guyana, the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), ruled that the motion was successful. Headlines in the local daily newspapers screamed this fact on the front pages.
President of the Caribbean Court of Justice, Justice Adrian Saunders, even went as far as saying to the GECOM lawyer that they should be ready for elections.
I am not sure where exactly the writer read that the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has an inability to conduct snap elections. GECOM’s primary function is to conduct elections, whenever they are called upon to do so.
In his second point, Mr. Dolphin claimed that the Court of Appeal invalidated the No-Confidence Motion. However, the Motion was challenged on three grounds, and the Court of Appeal only invalidated it on one ground, claiming that the majority of all the elected members of the National Assembly, 65 members, is 34.
The Caribbean Court of Justice subsequently ruled that this was just some bad mathematics and the majority of all the elected members of the National Assembly is, indeed, 33. As such, for emphasis, I repeat that the Caribbean Court of Justice ruled that the no-confidence motion was validly and successfully passed.
Thirdly, Mr. Dolphin also claimed the court challenge was to force the Government’s resignation and impose a date for elections.
First, the Caribbean Court of Justice was clear that the Government must act in a caretaker capacity. Second, the Constitution is clear on when elections should be. Article 106 of the Constitution says elections within three months.
The ill-informed letter writer’s next point is so ludicrous, it is almost laughable.
In 2014, then Leader of the Opposition, Mr. David Granger, protested daily with a handful of people when President Ramotar simply prorogued Parliament, a power he had in the Constitution. The very important point here is that President Ramotar never faced a No-Confidence Motion.
The remainder of Mr. Dolphin’s letter makes me wonder whether he is reading from a copy of the ‘Burnham Constitution’ or if he is being deliberately obtuse.
I make the latter comments, because what is amazing is that the letter writer seems to comprehend that the Caribbean Court of Justice ruled that the Government must function in a caretaker capacity. As such, how does the writer not comprehend that the No-Confidence Motion triggers elections within three months, in accordance with Article 106 (6) of the Constitution?
It appears the writer does not understand the concept of a No-Confidence Motion. The people elect the Members of the National Assembly, the National Assembly declared no confidence in the Government, thus cutting their term in office short. As a result, elections should have been held since March 21, 2019.
Mr. Dolphin’s attempt to paint the Government as legal and righteous and the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) as the ‘bad guys’ must be rejected by all Guyanese – regardless of which side of the political fence they stand. Such reckless, ill-informed commentary, that is blatantly false, cannot be allowed to stand unchallenged.
The facts of today’s situation are clear. A no-confidence motion was validly and successfully passed. The APNU/AFC Coalition Government has fallen. Elections should have been held since March 21, 2019. Our Constitution, the supreme law of the land, must be respected and upheld.
I, therefore, urge all right-thinking Guyanese to reject these falsehoods contained in that letter, and to join in demanding that the Constitution of Guyana be upheld.
Yours sincerely,
Roodi Balgobin, MBA

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