Attorney General Basil Williams SC on Friday maintained that the resolution certifying the passage of the December 21st no-confidence motion against the government is invalid as it required the support of an “absolute” majority of the 65 members of the National Assembly, even as the attorney for opposition leader Bharrat Jagdeo pointed out that there is no such qualification in the constitution.
“One cannot certify an illegality… The framers of the constitution would not have intended for a government to be defeated by a majority rather than an absolute majority,” Williams said during oral submissions, which were heard by Chief Justice (ag) Roxane George-Wiltshire SC.
Williams and attorney Maxwell Edwards also argued that the resolution conflicts with Article 70(3) of the Constitution, which they say guarantees a five-year term of office.