Speaker of the National Assembly Raphael Trotman has written Commonwealth Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma asking him to send a delegation to Guyana to intercede in the dispute between the government and the opposition over the proroguing of Parliament.
In a letter dated today and released to the media, Trotman said in part:
“Undoubtedly, Articles 69 and 70 (1) of the Guyana Constitution give the President the authority to Prorogue the Parliament; however the framers of our Constitution could never have intended that such authority would be used arbitrarily, or as a shield by a minority Government against the majority of the elected Members of Parliament.
“Article 106 (6) of the Guyana Constitution clearly and unambiguously states that the Government shall resign if a majority of the elected members of the National Assembly vote in favour of a No Confidence Motion. In anticipation of such a vote, the actions of His Excellency, the President in proroguing the Parliament, have neutered the elected House of Representatives, and what is more, the proclamation that announced the prorogation has not named a date for the resumption of sittings of the National Assembly. This, I believe, is a violation of the spirit of the Constitution, as it allows the Executive the unbridled ability to frustrate and prevent the work of the National Assembly.
“At present there is grid-lock as the majority of Members of the National Assembly are indicating that there will be no dialogue with the Executive unless or until there is revocation of the Prorogation and a resumption of sittings of the National Assembly. On the other hand, His Excellency, the President has indicated publicly that he is prepared to re-convene the Parliament if accommodations could be arrived at; presumably after dialogue.
“The Guyana Parliament, as a Member of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, urges you to use your good offices, together with the entire weight of the Association, to intervene so that we could have a return to normalcy. To this end, I invite you to send a delegation to Guyana to engage all sides of this disagreement so that this unhealthy situation may be brought to a speedy and peaceful end.”