House Speaker Raphael Trotman has appealed for the Commonwealth’s intervention to resolve the political gridlock between the government and the opposition in the wake of President Donald Ramotar’s suspension of the Parliament.
“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 democracy,” Trotman wrote yesterday in a letter to Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma.
“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,” he added.
President Ramotar on Monday issued a proclamation to prorogue Parliament in order to avoid the parliamentary opposition’s plan to debate and pass a no-confidence motion against his government. He said he would seek dialogue with the opposition during the prorogation period, which could last as much as six months, but would move to hold general elections if attempts on this front are unsuccessful.
Trotman’s appeal was made in light of the inflexible position adopted by both sides. He noted that opposition majority in the National Assembly has indicated that there will be no dialogue with the executive unless the suspension of the Parliament is revoked and the National Assembly is reconvened, while the president is insisting on dialogue and accommodations if this is to be done.
In the letter, Trotman pointed out that Ramotar’s decision to prorogue the Parliament was arbitrary and the proclamation was issued on the very day that had been fixed for the sittings of the National Assembly to be reconvened.
He also noted that while the constitution gives the president the authority to prorogue Parliament, the framers of the constitution could never have intended that the holder of the office would use the authority arbitrarily or to shield 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,” he added.
In his letter, Trotman mentioned that he had written former Secretary General of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Dr William Shija in September to inform him of the planned no-confidence motion against the government and to seek support from the Commonwealth Secretariat as the country “navigated unprecedented waters.” He had also maintained contact with Tafawa Williams, Adviser in the Secretariat’s Political Affairs Division, to keep him updated on the previous attempts to resume the sittings of the National Assembly.
