Adverting to the consequential orders made on July 12 by the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), Anil Nandlall, counsel for Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo has written Chief Election Officer Keith Lowenfield requesting that he immediately begin preparing for general elections on a date no later than September 18, 2019.
Nandlall’s letter added the following warning: “You must be aware, that GECOM, was made a party to the aforementioned legal proceedings, by the CCJ, so as to make the Orders of the Court directly binding on GECOM and as the Chief Election Officer, you are inextricably, so bound. Therefore, any actions or omissions on your part which may be interpreted to be in violation or frustration of the letter and spirit of the Orders and judgments of the CCJ may expose you to contempt of Court proceedings”.
The letter follows:
I act on behalf of the Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Bharrat Jagdeo, MP.
As you are aware, on the 12th day of July 2019, the Caribbean Court of Justice (CQ) delivered certain Orders made consequential to its decisions rendered on the 18th day of June 2019, in the matters of:
1) Zulifikar Mustapha v AG and Others
2) Christopher Ram v AG and Others
3) Bharrat Jagdeo v AG and Others
4) Charandass Persaud v Compton Reid and Others. Among the Orders made, is the following:
“… (f)Upon the passage of this motion of No Confidence in the Government, the clear provisions
of Article 106, IMMEDIATELY BECAME ENGAGED”.
Speaking on the provisions of Article 106 of the Constitution of Guyana, the Court said:
“their meaning is clear and it is the responsibility of constitutional actors in Guyana to honour them. Upon the passage of a vote of no confidence, the Article requires the resignation of the Cabinet including the President. The Article goes on to state, among other things, that notwithstanding such resignation the Government shall remain in office and that an election will be held “within 3 months ‘ or such longer period that the National Assembly by resolution supported by not less than two-thirds of the votes of all elected members of the National Assembly … “. The Guyana Elections Commission has that responsibility to conduct that elections and GECOM too MUST abide by the provisions of the Constitution.
“Given the passage of the No Confidence motion on 21 December 2018, a General Election should have been held in Guyana by 21 March 2019, unless a two-thirds majority in the National Assembly had resolved to extend that period. The National Assembly is yet to extend the period. The filing of the court proceedings in January challenging the validity of the no confidence vote effectively placed matters on pause , but this Court rendered its decision on 18 June 2019. There is no appeal from that Judgment”.
The Court further exhorted that the relevant political actors be guided by constitutional imperatives and expressed the hope that these “bodies and personages will exercise their responsibilities with integrity and in keeping with the unambiguous provisions of the Constitution bearing in mind that the no confidence motion was validly passed as long ago as 21 December 2018. ” Again at para (8) of the judgment, the CCJ reiterates for emphasis,”the three month deadline …for the holding of fresh elections. “
In compliance with the extraordinarily clear language of the CCJ above, I hereby request that you immediately commence preparations for the holding of General and Regional Elections on a date no later than 18th day of September 2019.
You must be aware, that GECOM, was made a party to the aforementioned legal proceedings, by the CCJ, so as to make the Orders of the Court directly binding on GECOM and as the Chief Elections Officer, you are inextricably, so bound. Therefore, any actions or omissions on your part which may be interpreted to be in violation or frustration of the letter and spirit of the Orders and judgments of the CCJ may expose you to contempt of Court proceedings.
