In what is a new dimension to Guyana’s political landscape, the recent elections results have created a unique situation where both the President and the combined opposition can trigger another election before the five-year constitutional deadline.
Attorney General Anil Nandlall, in a brief telephone interview with Stabroek News, said that the power to call an election resides predominantly with the executive arm of government. He indicated that the President is free to call an election at any time during his/her term in office. If such a decision is made by the President, Nandlall said, the Guyana Elections Commission (Gecom) will have to be told to ready itself for the holding of polls.
However, Nandlall said that the government could be forced to hold new elections if it is defeated by a no-confidence motion passed in the National Assembly. In such a scenario, he said, the Cabinet will have to resign although the government will remain in office until the elections are held within three months of the passing of the motion.
Article 106 of the Constitution says that the cabinet, including the president shall resign if the government is defeated by the vote of a majority of all the elected members of the National Assembly on a vote of no confidence. Further, it says notwithstanding its defeat, the government shall remain in office and shall hold an election within three months, or for a longer period determined by a vote of two-thirds of the assembly. The government would then resign after the new president takes the oath of office following the election.
When contacted, deputy leader for A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Dr Rupert Roopnaraine said that the government could hold an election at any time under Article 70 of the Constitution without any prerequisites.
Article 70 (1) of the Constitution says the Presi-dent may at any time by proclamation prorogue Parlia-ment, while (2) says that the President may at any time by proclamation dissolve Parlia-ment. Once Parliament has been dissolved under normal circumstances, elections should take place within three months.
Roopnaraine opined that the Article 70 of the constitution ought to be amended but he noted that it would require either a two-thirds majority or a referendum for this to be achieved.
Also weighing in on the issue was AFC Leader and attorney Raphael Trotman, who said that while the President has the power to dissolve parliament for elections, this power is interpreted in the context of GECOM’s readiness for elections. He told Stabroek News that the dissolution of the House is triggered when the Chairman informs the president that everything is in place for a national election. He noted that unlike in other territories, Guyana’s elections management agency does not have the capacity to maintain a position of readiness. “This means that the chances of a ‘snap’ or ‘surprise’ election are slim because parliament would have to vote money, the list would have to be made ready, persons trained etc,” Trotman said.
“I anticipate an earlier than constitutionally due election (before 2016), but it will take more than 18 months to get us back to the state of national readiness,” Trotman said. “Filibuster will also be a feature of the 10th Parliament,” he added.
Whether an election happens before the constitutional due date, political analysts have noted, is heavily dependent on the working relationship among the three parties in parliament—the ruling PPP/C, the APNU and the AFC. President Donald Ramotar has committed to working with the APNU and AFC and other groups and he has already held initial engagements with the parties on various matters.
Recently, former Gecom Commissioner Haslyn Parris, in an interview with Stabroek News, suggested that the parliamentary parties look immediately at reforming the electoral laws given the possibility of new elections being called at any time. He said fixing the inadequacies of the laws would not be an easy task while adding that the parties need to be dealt with urgently but in an ongoing fashion.
During a previous interview with Stabroek News, Roopnaraine had identified the reform of the electoral system as one of APNU’s priorities whenever parliament convened. He had noted that the PPP/C has never properly addressed this issue in keeping with the Herdmanston Accord in 1998 between then President Janet Jagan and then Opposition Leader Desmond Hoyte.
