President David Granger has invited Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo to meet next Wednesday on the readiness of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to hold general elections and the requirement for funding.
While Granger left Guyana yesterday for Cuba, where he is receiving treatment for cancer, the invitation was sent on his behalf by State Minister Joseph Harmon.
The letter to Jagdeo, dated February 25th, was released yesterday by the Ministry of the Presidency. The president has also written the GECOM Chairman James Patterson urging the start of poll preparations and seeking a consultation on the electoral body’s readiness.
According to the letter to Jagdeo, the president is seeking to consult on the National Assembly’s constitutional role in the present situation and GECOM’s readiness and requirement for funding to enable it conduct general and regional elections.
“The President wishes to advise that he has written to the Chairman of GECOM urging him to initiate arrangements for the conduct of General and Regional Elections and committing to supporting his request for financing those elections,” it added.
The invitation is for a meeting next Wednesday at 11 am at the Ministry of the Presidency.
By majority vote, the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) last Tuesday decided that it would advise President Granger that the three-month constitutional deadline for general elections cannot be met and that it will continue with its approved work plan for the year, including a national house-to-house registration process. Jagdeo’s party, the PPP/C, has been calling on GECOM to prepare for elections as a consequence of the the successful December 21st vote on a no-confidence motion against the government.
The release of additional funds for GECOM to prepare for elections and the shifting of the elections’ date beyond March 21st requires a return to the National Assembly and the support of the opposition as a two-thirds majority is required for extending the elections date.
At a press conference last week, Jagdeo had ruled out him reaching out to the Head of State, though he had repeatedly expressed concerns that the country is heading towards a “constitutional crisis” as elections are not expected to be held by the March 21st deadline set following the successful vote on the confidence motion.
Jagdeo was adamant that given the importance of this issue, the president is the one who has to extend an invitation to meet. “The president has to convene meetings himself with other people. So this president is now acting as though nothing is happening, that the country is going fine, his ministers are doing well, they’re spending all our money…He has given no indication whatsoever that he understands the seriousness of the situation or that he is prepared to address it,” he said, while insisting that Granger is “driving us into a constitutional crisis.”
Government has currently moved to the courts to challenge the validity of the vote.
Since Chief Justice (ag) Roxane George-Wiltshire SC ruled last month to uphold the validity of the motion, the APNU+AFC administration has insisted that it will be “business as usual” and that it will await the outcome of the court challenge, which is expected to end up before the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ). So far five appeals have been filed at the Court of Appeal. No date has been set for the hearing.
