President Donald Ramotar on Tuesday invited Opposition Leader David Granger to talks on a post-prorogation agenda for Parliament but APNU is holding to its position that there will be no dialogue unless Parliament is reconvened.
Ramotar’s suspension of Parliament two Mondays ago has triggered the country’s worst political crisis since the 2011 general elections and his government has not been able to mobilise support for its move.
A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance For Change (AFC), whose motion of no-confidence against the government was thwarted by the prorogation have both insisted that there will be no talks with the Ramotar administration unless Parliament is recalled.
In a letter dated November 18 to Granger, Ramotar said he had repeatedly stressed that the parliamentary sitting for November 10 which his prorogation order forestalled, would have ended the life of parliament and left many important issues unaddressed. He said his decision to prorogue delayed this eventuality, thereby providing an opportunity for talks.
Urging that the opportunity be used wisely, Ramotar said in the letter “… “I propose we quickly commence a high level engagement of two teams led by myself and yourself respectively, to agree on a post-Prorogation Parlia-mentary Agenda on which an Order Paper can be based”.
The President told Granger that he stood “prepared to meet at the shortest notice, to initiate steps.”
Speaking to Stabroek News moments after an extraordinary APNU Executive Council meeting yesterday, Granger stated “I will not meet with Mr Ramotar while the Parliament remains prorogued.”
He said that while a meeting was held with the executive council yesterday at the Office of the Leader of the Opposition, he would not be making any decision to formally write the President until he has consulted with his shadow cabinet.
“I have consulted with the APNU executive council and I will consult with the shadow cabinet about our response, basically I can assure you that both the shadow cabinet and the APNU executive council do not support any meeting with President Ramotar while the Parliament is under prorogation”, Granger stated.
He said that the letter from the President arrived after the shadow cabinet met on Tuesday. As it stands the Opposition Leader said he will not be taking any actions to formally write the President rejecting the invitation. APNU’s position has remained firm that no talks will be had under duress which the party has said was the environment created when the president suspended the legislative branch of government.
In a statement yesterday, APNU reiterated “its firm decision not to accept this denial of democracy and not to allow President Ramotar and the People’s Progressive Party to implant a ‘one-party’ dictatorship in this country.”
Meanwhile Leader of the Alliance For Change, Khemraj Ramjattan stated yesterday that he had received no invitation from the President on engagements, but also does not expect any. He told Stabroek News that the President is aware that the AFC will not budge from its intention to have a no-confidence motion passed against the government and as a result the PPP was pushed into a corner and is now desperately seeking an audience with the APNU with whom the government was in talks with prior to the prorogation.
Ramjattan noted that the government has consistently said that should there be no chance of dialogue with the opposition then an announcement will be made for general elections to be held. He said that the government is still scrambling to stay in control.
Since the suspension of the National Assembly the government has faced heavy criticism from stakeholders, with opposition groups declaring that the President’s decision borders on a dictatorship. The President has since met with the four Western missions and a section of Guyana’s civil society.
Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr Roger Luncheon, at his post cabinet press briefing yesterday, was asked by Stabroek News what the President’s timeframe for a response from APNU would be. Luncheon did not answer the question directly.
He said that the President still maintains hope that the opposition will agree to talks however he did say “let’s assume that those invitations are rejected comprehensively, totally, irreversibly and in all possible context the President’s invitations are rejected I think the president is quite clear that there would be no return to a second prorogation or re-prorogation that the only option would be for another proclamation and this one to deal with the dissolution of the 10th parliament (and fresh elections).”
Luncheon said that it had to still be determined at what point does the opposition’s stance on no talks, while Parliament is prorogued, with the government becomes “irrevocable.”
A stream of statements from civil society has expressed concern at the prorogation of Parliament and some have called for new elections to settle the crisis.
UK High Commissioner to Guyana Andrew Ayre on Monday called for President Ramotar to reconvene the National Assembly as soon as possible stating that Parliament is the “central pillar of democracy.”
Ayre said, “The UK calls on the Government of Guyana, or the President more precisely of Guyana to reconvene Parliament at the earliest possible opportunity.
“Article 50 (of the Guyana Constitution), it clearly refers to democracy in Guyana being made up of the President, the Cabinet and parliament so it’s important that we stay within the Constitution of Guyana going forward.”
He said that while the Constitution did give the President the power to prorogue Parliament, “it also gave in Article 106 part 6 the right for majority of MPs to dissolve the parliament essentially and have new elections.” He was responding to media questions in relation to the President’s decision to prorogue Parliament instead of face an opposition no-confidence motion.
