Expressing concern again at the continuing prorogation of Parliament, the United Kingdom yesterday reiterated its call for the Donald Ramotar administration to lift the suspension of the law-making body.
“The UK Government views with concern the continued prorogation of Parliament by His Excellency President Ramotar and calls for its earliest possible resumption,” Foreign Office Minister Tobias Ellwood said in a statement. “Parlia-ment is required by Guy-ana’s Constitution and the Commonwealth Charter, it provides the necessary checks and balances and enables citizens’ voices to be heard. The suspension of Parliament therefore means that an essential element of a functioning democracy has been put on hold,” he said.
On November 10 last year, President Ramotar suspended the National Assembly to avoid a motion of no-confidence which was to be piloted on the same day by AFC MP Moses Nagamootoo and which was expected to bring down the government and trigger fresh elections.
Ramotar’s government has found little support for prorogation which critics have argued has shut down the legislative branch of government and the forum through which the people’s representatives are heard. Last month, amid political deadlock and facing growing criticism over his decision to suspend Parliament, Ramotar, who is presently on a state visit to India, announced that he will call general elections but declined to name a date, saying that he will “announce further steps” in this direction early next year. He has not yet named a date for the elections and Parliament remains prorogued.
The statement by the UK yesterday is seen as maintaining pressure on the Ramotar administration to recall Parliament. Previously, UK High Commissioner to Guyana, Andrew Ayre had called for Ramotar to reconvene the National Assembly as soon as possible saying that Parliament is the “central pillar of democracy.”
Ellwood yesterday, also expressed concern at the absence of local government elections. “We also continue to have concerns that there have been no local elections for over 20 years, which is also contrary to the democratic principles of the Common-wealth Charter and Guyana’s own Constitu-tion,” he said. “The UK calls on all stakeholders to seek solutions to the political and socio-economic challenges facing Guyana so that the country can develop in a fair, democratic and equitable way,” the UK minister added.
The opposition parties yesterday welcomed the UK’s stance. Stabroek News was unable to get a comment from the government. Minister of Legal Affairs Anil Nandlall referred this newspaper to the Office of the President. Stabroek News was unable to get in touch with Presidential Advisor Gail Teixeira.
Leader of the main opposition coalition APNU, David Granger said that they “entirely support” the view expressed by the UK minister. He noted that APNU had taken the same position from the outset and had argued that prorogation was politically unnecessary and it allowed the PPP’s election campaign to proceed unhindered and avoid scrutiny of spending while also avoiding Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh being sent to the Committee of Privileges and an impending sanction of Attorney-General Nandlall over a phone call in which he made remarks seen as threating among other things.
Granger said that the position taken by the British Foreign Office is a correct one. “We would urge that it (prorogation) be brought to an end as early as possible,” he said while pointing out that the National Assembly has not been convened for a record six months. He said that the Assembly was the only means for 175,000 members of the electorate to have their views heard. Persons still have concerns about issues in their various regions, he said.
“The executive does not have the right to paralyze the entire system of democracy simply because it is preparing for elections,” Granger declared.
AFC leader Khemraj Ramjattan also welcomed the UK statement. “We commend the stance taken by the British government,” Ramjattan told Stabroek News. He added that a date for elections should be identified. He said that the AFC was aware that international players had concerns and was happy that the UK government had spoken on the matter. He noted that Guyana had inherited its political system from Great Britain and the prorogation option was not meant to be used in this manner – to avoid a no-confidence motion.
The AFC leader said that he was certain that others will also make statements of their own and disclosed that recently the AFC’s New York chapter had met with representatives of the US State Department. “We are all getting a little concerned” that the suspension of the House could last for the six months allowed by the Constitution, he said.
Further, Ramjattan said, the President should name a date for elections. “We do not see a need for reconvening Parliament at this state. He should call elections,” he said. Should the National Assembly be reconvened, the AFC will proceed with its no-confidence motion as a matter of priority, the AFC leader said. “What he should do now…is call an elections,” the AFC leader declared. He said that an election would be the best way to deal with a crisis like this and naming a date will bring certainty to the populace.
Ramjattan also said that he was reliably informed that the administration had informed CARICOM governments that Ramotar would identify a date for general elections early in the year and it was expected that he would have done so in his New Year’s address. However, this did not happen. The AFC leader said that they have been meeting representatives of CARICOM countries and urging them to make statements denouncing the prorogation.
