Given the developments in wake of the passage of the December 21st no-confidence motion against government, Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo yesterday told representatives of several diplomatic missions and international organisations that a constitutional crisis is brewing.
“They are behaving as though nothing happened and that we are in a normal situation when we are heading to a constitutional crisis. So, I pointed out clearly… that rapid pathway to a constitutional crisis and what will take place once the country gets into the constitutional crisis [and] how we will act,” Jagdeo told reporters shortly after the briefing session had ended.
The meeting was called at the behest of Jagdeo and was held at his Church Street office. Among the countries represented were Mexico, Brazil, China, Chile and India. Representatives of the European Union (EU), the United Nations (UN) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) were also present. No representatives of the ABC countries were present yesterday and this newspaper was told that this was because a meeting was held with their representatives earlier this month.
Jagdeo, during a brief interview as he was leaving the office, explained that the party has been having engagements with different groups from the international community to apprise them of the situation in Guyana and “our take on the situation and how we feel about the sloth in the government action to seriously consider the constitutional implications of their behaviour.”
He reminded that the party’s approach to the constitutional crisis is also in the public domain.
Jagdeo yesterday accused the three government-nominated members of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) of working to delay elections preparations, thereby quickening the onset of a constitutional crisis.
He described the apparent standstill of GECOM as disastrous. “I think GECOM at the level of the Secretariat, from the documents they provided to the commission, seem ready to start the process rolling but at the level of the commission, the commissioners representing the government have now taken on a political role, so their rhetoric is similar to that of the government,” he said, while noting the suggestion that a new national house-to-house registration process is needed.
“Amna Ally has been speaking about it, so suddenly Vincent Alexander and [Desmond] Trotman and [Charles] Corbin, representing the government on the commission, they have been parroting the same language and it seems as though their only task there is to delay the start of preparations for elections. So, their action at GECOM is going to push us closer to a constitutional crisis faster,” he charged.
The two chief whips, Ally for government and Gail Teixeira for the opposition, met with GECOM last week to determine its readiness to hold elections. The meeting ended abruptly without any clear indication of how soon the polls could be held. “This is a massive filibuster to make sure elections are not held within the 90 days as required by the Constitution, or even any modicum of trying to make it be held within reasonable time,” Teixeira said afterward.
Both she and Ally told the media that the meeting ended in a stalemate with GECOM and that Jagdeo and President David Granger would have to decide on the way forward.
It is unclear at this point when Jagdeo and Granger will be meeting again after their initial engagement in the wake of the passage of the motion.
Mexican Ambassador to Guyana Ivan Roberto Sierra-Medel and Indian High Commissioner Venkatachalam Mahalingam were the only two diplomats who spoke to reporters. The others, who were approached as they walked out of the building, declined to speak.
Both diplomats confirmed that they were invited to the meeting by Jagdeo.
Sierra-Medel said, “I think it was a very constructive dialogue and, of course, it is our duty as a diplomatic corps to keep ourselves informed about this process.”
Mahalingam, meanwhile, described the discourse as interesting. “It was very interesting to listen to him because we could get the briefing from his side…what is his view,” he said, before adding that prior to the meeting, they were only getting details of the situation from the newspapers.
On December 28th, Jagdeo met with officials from the American, Canadian and British missions as well as the European Union delegation to brief them on the passage of the motion and to outline his party’s concerns. Following that meeting, Jagdeo said that he made it clear to the international community that after March 19th, the members of the parliamentary opposition will treat the government, if elections are not held by that date, “as illegitimate, unconstitutional and that no act that they engage in internationally or locally would be recognised and this will have major implications for Guyana, for investors and for all concerned.”
Prior to court challenges to the validity of the motion, it had been expected that with its passage new general elections would have been held within 90 days, in accordance with Article 106(6) of the constitution.
It was a vote by then APNU+AFC member Charrandass Persaud on the opposition-sponsored motion that led to it being declared carried by Speaker Barton Scotland on a vote of 33 Members of Parliament in favour to 32 against.
The government publicly accepted the ruling but later recanted.
The Speaker later refused an invitation by the government to reverse his decision on the motion, saying it could seek redress in court. Three separate legal challenges were subsequently filed and acting Chief Justice Roxane George-Wiltshire, who has already received written submissions and heard legal arguments, is expected to hand down her decisions in each matter on Thursday.
