Earliest date for Elections is March 2, 2020 -Granger

Sep 26, 2019 News

– Parliament reconvenes on October 10, 2019 for extension of Constitutional deadline

President David Granger has announced that the earliest date for the holding of General and Regional Elections is March 2, 2020.

President David Granger

Though it has been reported in other sections of the media that that date is Elections day, it should be noted that the President’s statement did not explicitly name a date. It only said that that date is the earliest possible one.
His announcement came after discussions with his Cabinet of Ministers and Chair of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), (ret’d) Justice Claudette Singh S.C.
The President had been advised by Singh on September 19 last that GECOM will be ready to hold elections by the end of February, 2020, after weeks of back-and-forth discussions at the level of the Commission on a comprehensive work-plan.
After receiving the advice, the President had met with several Cabinet Ministers on the very day, and his full Cabinet on Tuesday last. He said that the Ministers were guided by the advice of Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams. The President said that he also met with Justice Singh again, yesterday, and they discussed the statutory timelines for the upcoming elections.
The President stated that the extension of a period beyond three months of the Constitutional deadline as provided for in the nation’s Supreme Law, is related to the readiness of GECOM. Hence, he has declared that the Government must return to the National Assembly, “as a consequence”, to request an extension of that deadline.
During a press conference last week, the Alliance for Change (AFC) had called on the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) to grant the extension when the National Assembly reconvenes, or risk frustrating the Constitution.
The extension requires two-thirds of all the votes of the Members of Parliament. Such a motion would only pass if the PPP supports it. The Parliamentary Opposition had held a press conference shortly after the AFC’s request, at the Office of the Leader of the Opposition, where Chief Whip Gail Teixeira said that there is no Parliament because she contends that the Government is illegal.
The President told members of the media early yesterday that Government would also seek to return to Parliament if it finds that GECOM is in need of additional funds to prepare for elections. Kaieteur News understands that the expedition of several preparatory activities by the Secretariat requires additional funds, but it is unlikely that GECOM will need that, as iterated by Commissioner Charles Corbin.
The National Assembly reconvenes on October 10, 2019.
President Granger noted, in his statement, that Constitutional Articles 70(2) and 73(2) grant him the right to dissolve Parliament and the ten Regional Democratic Councils (RDC) respectively, and that following the dissolution of Parliament, Article 61 states: “An election of members of the National Assembly under Article 60 (2) shall be held on such day within three months after every dissolution of Parliament as the President shall appoint by proclamation.”
That means that, despite calls by the PPP for him to dissolve Parliament; the President would not be adhering with the Constitution if he did so before December 2, 2019.
Moving forward, the President said that Guyana is on the right path to preserving its parliamentary democracy.
He maintains, since the passage of the No Confidence Motion in the National Assembly on December 21, 2018, that Government has respected the decisions of the Courts and upheld the Constitution.
Of the court challenges that dragged on for months, he said that those were only meant to clarify and interpret the Constitution, not to delay the consequences of the No Confidence Motion.
He said that he has respected the National Assembly at all times, and that he engaged the Elections Commission from February 2019 repeatedly.
“I insisted that credible elections be held at the earliest possible time. Credible elections are essential to representative democracy.” Granger said.
In a statement released last night, the AFC welcomed the President’s announcement, and concurred with the President’s claim that Government has done nothing unconstitutional since December 21, 2018. The party reiterated its request for the Constitutional deadline to be extended in the National Assembly, with the support of the Opposition. The party further asserted that the APNU+AFC coalition will be returning to Government after the elections are concluded.