Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo is refusing to meet with President David Granger next week unless a date for general and regional elections is on the agenda.
“Unless an election date is on the agenda, there will be no meeting,” Jagdeo told a press conference at his Church Street, Georgetown office yesterday.
On Monday, Granger invited Jagdeo to a meeting scheduled for next Wednesday to discuss the readiness of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to hold general elections and the requirement for funding.
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 to conduct general and regional elections.
Jagdeo, however, maintained that the constitution is clear on these two issues and, therefore, a discussion is unnecessary.
“The constitution provides for the role of the National Assembly and the constitution provides for funding; it gives GECOM the discretion to use funds it has at its disposal, which is a lump sum because it is a constitutional agency. The two items don’t need consultations…It’s a waste of time to go there for another PR [public relations] opportunity where we shake hands and people think everything is fine,” he said.
GECOM has previously decided, based on advice received from the Finance Secretary, that it cannot deliver credible polls within a three-month time-frame from December 21st, 2018—when a no confidence motion against the government was declared carried in the National Assembly—and that additional funds need to be provided.
By majority decisions that saw Chairman James Patterson use his casting vote, GECOM last week determined that it would write to the president and advise him of the decisions.
Consequently, Granger wrote to Patterson urging that GECOM begin preparations for polls and indicating that he would “seek the approval of the National Assembly to ensure that an agreement can be reached given both the constitutional requirement and GECOM’s capability.”
It is against this background that Jagdeo was invited to meet with the president next Wednesday.
“There will be no meeting. They will drive us into unconstitutional territory and we will not go there because this government is not complying with the constitution of this country… we will not vote to extend the life of this government,” Jagdeo declared yesterday.
He further accused the APNU+AFC government of perpetuating a fraud by sending one letter to Patterson and releasing a different letter to the public.
Jagdeo charged that the Ministry of the Presidency, being unhappy with the first letter in which Granger “urged GECOM to begin preparing for elections,” decided to alter its contents to request a consultation instead.
For several minutes Jagdeo argued “this is a fraudulent act” even as reporters pointed out that there were two different letters, with the second acknowledging the first. Patterson has since acknowledged receipt of both letters.
“It is altered,” Jagdeo maintained, before demanding that the citizenry should see both letters side by side.
Eventually he acknowledged that the contents of the letters were different and demanded instead that government clarify which letter accurately reflects its position.
Both letters are dated February 25th and the second clearly acknowledges the existence of the first.
In the first, Granger indicated that “the Government of Guyana is committed to doing everything possible to ensure that the commission is provided with the financial resources and has sufficient time to conduct credible elections.”
He added, “I urge the commission, therefore, to commence preparations for the conduct of [General and Regional Elections]” and he committed to seek parliamentary approval to “ensure that an agreement can be reached given both the constitutional requirement and GECOM’s capability.”
The Ministry of the Presidency only released the second letter, in which the President requests to initiate consultations with Patterson on the readiness of GECOM for the conduct of general and regional elections in 2019. He also noted that GECOM, as a constitutional agency, would require a new appropriation of funds approved by the National Assembly for the conduct of the polls.
