Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo yesterday stated that while the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) will be respectful of the ruling of the Court of Appeal, which by majority invalidated the passage of last December’s no confidence vote against the government, it intends to immediately approach the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) to appeal.
In a video statement released just after the court ruled that the motion was not passed with an absolute majority, Jagdeo urged his party’s supporters not to be dejected.
“I don’t want a single member of the PPP/C to be demoralised or to stop working. Don’t be dejected. We will appeal the matter,” he stressed, while arguing that the “matter will be resolved definitely in the CCJ so we shall appeal this ruling almost immediately.”
He referred to the arguments used by the two judges who found that the passage of the motion was not valid as “strange logic” and emphasised that all right thinking Guyanese know that the majority of 65 is 33. By a majority decision, the Appeal Court has invalidated the passage of the no-confidence motion against the government, saying that.
Acting Chancellor and Yonette Cummings-Edwards and Justice of Appeal Dawn Gregory both found that an “absolute majority” of 34 votes were needed for the passage of the motion, which was declared carried by House Speaker Dr Barton Scotland by a vote of 33 to 32 members of the 65-member National Assembly. Justice of Appeal Rishi Persaud, in a dissenting ruling, upheld the earlier ruling by acting Chief Justice Roxane George-Wiltshire, who had found the passage of the motion to be valid. The passage of the motion had led to demands by the opposition for polls by March 21st, after which time it said it would not recognise the legitimacy of the government.
“Article 106 provides for Cabinet including the President to resign if a vote of no confidence is passed by a majority of the National Assembly. That is the constitution. No strange Mathematics can change the constitution,” Jagdeo stressed.
He indicated that his party, which began nationwide protest yesterday, will continue to remain mobilised.
“We will continue to work every single day to ensure that people across Guyana know of the nature of this government. They have witnessed that the government continued to act with impunity following the [Chief Justice’s] ruling. No doubt they will latch on to this ruling to argue that now they are legal,” he said, while expressing the hope that his party will be able to convince the CCJ that the “strange importation of the concept of simple vs absolute majority is not enough to invalidate the vote.”
Additionally, he said efforts are going to be made to ensure GECOM continues to prepare for early elections since there is a great possibility that the adverse ruling could be overturned at the CCJ
“If it’s overturned there and they are not prepared, then that would mean further delays in Guyana in conducting elections, so we would be pressing for GECOM to continue their preparation for early elections,” Jagdeo said.
He further advised his followers to “keep working in communities, keep working online, keep going into communities where we are not strong, the APNU strongholds.”
