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Court dismisses opposition’s application to declare Jagdeo’s parliamentary seat vacant
Attorney-at- Law, Devindra KissoonKaieteur News- Justice Nareshwar on Wednesday dismissed a court action filed by Opposition Members of Parliament (MPs), Christopher Jones and Tabitha Sarabo-Halley who approached the High Court seeking a declaration that Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo has vacated his seat owing to his prolonged absence from the House.
Jagdeo, represented by Devindra Kissoon, Natasha Vieira and Abhimanyu Dev of London House Chambers, filed an application to dismiss the case on the basis that the Court did not have the jurisdiction to hear and determine the matter without the Speaker first giving Jagdeo an opportunity to be heard.
Attorney General Anil Nandlall SC. (Court dismisses opposition’s application)
Attorney General Anil Nandlall, and Speaker of the National Assembly, Manzoor Nadir, represented by Satram and Satram, joined in Jagdeo’s application.
MPs, Jones and Sarabo-Halley represented by Senor Counsel, Roysdale Forde had previously issued a statement saying “We filed an application with the High Court addressing the prolonged absence of Jagdeo from the National Assembly and from parliamentary sessions (more than six consecutive sittings within the first session 2020- 2024).”
In the application the MPs said good governance relies heavily on the active participation of all elected officials, noting that Articles 54 and 156 1 (b) of the Constitution of Guyana and Standing Order 106 (2) of the Standing Orders of the National Assembly of Guyana provides that a seat of a Member of the National Assembly shall be vacated if a member is absent from the sittings in the National Assembly for more than six consecutive sittings of the National Assembly within the First Session (2020-2024) of the Twelfth Parliament of Guyana and within a period of no longer than two calendar months.
The Application states that Bharrat Jagdeo was absent for eleven consecutive sittings of the National Assembly from 11th December, 2023 to the 1st February, 2024; this being within the First Session (2020-2024) of the Twelfth Parliament of Guyana.
Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo
The application urged the Court to consider the constitutional and legal implications of Jagdeo’s absence from parliamentary sessions and make several declarations.
However, Justice Harnanan, in siding with Kissoon’s argument of prematurity that “The vacation of a seat under Article 156(l)(b) of the Constitution and Standing Order 106(2) is not automatic by operation of law as it is the Speaker’s responsibility to determine whether the threshold has been met. As the Speaker did not make such a decision, there can be no vacation, and thus the Fixed Date Application is premature.”
He stated that while Court may have jurisdiction, it could only be invoked after it was shown that there was non-compliance with standing order 106, a finding that the Court could not make at this juncture, only the speaker having the authority to do so. In dismissing the case, the Court ordered the applicants to pay G$250,000 costs to each Respondent on or before December 31, 2024.
(Court dismisses opposition’s application to declare Jagdeo’s parliamentary seat vacant)
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