Opposition condemns Jagdeo’s attack on judiciary

Aug 04, 2024 News

Leader of the Opposition Aubrey Norton

– says it welcomes observers

Kaieteur News – The political opposition has condemned the attacks of Vice President (VP) Bharrat Jagdeo on the judicial system. Both leaders of the Alliance for Change (AFC) and the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) on Friday during their respective press conferences, called out the VP for his comments on the election fraud case at his weekly press conference held on Thursday.

Jagdeo said that, “Given what has happened in Venezuela and the close parallel to what we see here in Georgetown, it would be crucial to reflect on democracy especially now that the trials have started for those who the Commission of Inquiry found culpable of trying to steal the elections in favour of the APNU/AFC. We have waited for a long time to get to this stage.”

“The last attempt was dismissed by the Chief Justice and the trial has started. And, you will see a similar pattern now and the frustration expressed by the prosecution that on numerous occasions uncalled for that the defense lawyers are again trying to stall the trials by making frivolous objections. And often, these objections are entertained,” he added.

The VP confidently told reporters that the way he sees things with the ongoing trial “this matter will end up at the CCJ [Caribbean Court of Justice] ultimately. Therefore, it is crucial that the records be in the public domain, if they are not going to be kept in the Court, so that what is presented and the testimonies in the witnesses will be available in the media and elsewhere.”

Furthermore “It is crucial that we have the international community looking at it. They are urging that people who try to undermine public officials and democracy and the will of the people must face prosecution. Now, we are at a stage where we would invite them to observe the court drama that is taking place,” he added.

In response to Jagdeo, Aubrey Norton leader of the PNCR said that, “The Opposition categorically condemns the recent attacks by the Vice President, Mr. Bharrat Jagdeo, upon the magistrate presiding over the trial of the elections’ matters, the nine accused charged, their attorneys, and the general administration of justice in Guyana.”

Norton continued that Jagdeo’s attack on the judiciary is “vicious unjustifiable attack against the integrity of the magistrate and the administration of justice as a whole by accusing the magistrate of entertaining frivolous objections, failing to record evidence, and of suppressing evidence; and has threatened at the very commencement of the proceedings to subject the ruling of the Court to scrutiny by the Caribbean Court of Justice. These unfounded allegations are clearly intended to cast the Court and the administration of justice in a dim public light from the outset of these proceedings.”

Leader of the AFC Nigel Hughes

The PNCR leader stressed that the law should be allowed to take its course free from political interference and his party has steered clear of the matter to allow justice to run its due course, however they are taking a pause to “condemn the wicked attempts of the government to instill fear in the courts by its threats and the disservice the government is doing to the good people of this country by its campaign of lies and misinformation about the conduct of these proceedings.”

He went on to say that the VP’s invitation to have international observers and the international community view the court’s proceedings which are very public can only be viewed as calculated to coerce the Court to find the accused guilty.

“The Vice President’s invitation to the International Observers and International Community to view proceedings which, by their very nature are public, and with the aim of ‘ensuring that people don’t act or public officers do not act with impunity in the future where they are vested with either a responsibility by the law or the constitution and they in this case, in a partial manner discharge that responsibility, and in a corrupt manner’, can only be viewed as calculated to coerce the Court to find the accused persons guilty of the offences charged regardless of what the admissible evidence before the Court discloses.”

Meanwhile, Attorney-at-law and Leader of the AFC Nigel Hughes at a press conference on Friday said that, “The statements from the Vice President apart from their intemperance indicated clearly the fact that the executive thought that it is appropriate while a case is being heard for a non profession person i.e. a non lawyer to comment during the proceedings adversely about the decisions made by a sitting magistrate.”

The lawyer explained that there are provisions in the law for appeals to be made during the hearing of a matter against the decisions a magistrate makes and this option is also afforded to the prosecution. However, “In this case the Vice President who holds not an insignificant amount of power in the country decided to attack the magistrate and the decisions she had taken.”

Voicing his support on the VP’s suggestion to have international observes and the international community present to witness the proceedings, Hughes is welcoming any international observer as well as local ones to attend since the trials done in Guyana with the exception of sexual offences are done quite publicly.

“So we welcome any observers and I don’t think the presence of observers whether they are nationals or foreigners makes a difference to the conduct of the case, or will make a difference to the conduct either by the attorneys or by the magistrate,” he said.

Hughes expressed the party’s confidence in the bench, the judiciary and the ability of the magistracy saying “nobody knows what the outcome of the case will be, we certainly don’t think the efforts to attack the bench during the hearing of a matter is acceptable, we certainly don’t think that that is acceptable but sure we welcome observers.”