Political party, ANUG has criticised President David Granger for submitting a list of eight names for the GECOM Chairmanship and it added that the July 12 ruling of the CCJ on the caretaker status of the APNU+AFC government means no new laws can be passed nor new contracts signed.
In a statement yesterday, A New and United Guyana (ANUG) said “It is unfortunate that the President has chosen to deride the electoral process by producing a list of 8 persons which included his former candidate (retired Justice James Patterson), almost in an act of defiance to the jurisdiction’s highest appellate court, and to further include candidates with known ties to his political party”.
ANUG, which has been arguing for a government comprising both main parties and others, also highlighted acts of defiance by the President and his government.
“Within 24 hours the President also granted respite to halt the imprisonment of a Minister who was in clear contempt of that court’s ruling which compelled the state to pay US$2.2M…”, the statement said. One of ANUG’s principals, Timothy Jonas is the lawyer for Dipcon which had sought to have Finance Minister Winston Jordan imprisoned for contempt of court.
“Throughout the year, we have seen acts of defiance by the President and his government particularly towards the rule of law. We saw the President and his cabinet refusing to resign upon the passage of a no-confidence vote, then a refusal to uphold the High court’s ruling, and again, the CCJ’s ruling to meaningfully (consult) with the leader of the opposition on the establishment of a list of credible and appropriate names for the position of GECOM Chair”, ANUG added.
The party, which also has Ralph Ramkarran SC and Henry Jeffrey as leading lights, argued that the sending of lists by Granger and Jagdeo to each other directly contravened the decision of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ).
“The court went to great lengths to explain that the list of names should be the product of a meaningful discussion of persons of credibility. The parties both started their discourse in an unacceptable manner, and in bad faith. The first meeting should be on setting up the parameters for this discourse, and this we believe ought to have been set out by the CCJ. The leader of the opposition was required by the constitution to submit a list after meaningful consultation with the non-governmental parties represented in the National Assembly, not with the President. However, the CCJ has further emphasised that there should have been a meaningful discussion with the President on the names before the submission of the list. Article 161(2)’s requirement of consultation with non-governmental parties in the National Assembly on the list of names to be submitted reveals just how important a third party’s presence is in the parliament”, ANUG said.
It called on the President and Leader of the Opposition to put the country first and come to a consensus on the best possible candidate to chair the elections commission.
“The delay in coming to an agreement sends a strong message that we would prefer a divided country than one where there is public confidence in a system built on democracy”, the party said.
Adverting to the CCJ’s decisions of July 12, ANUG noted that cabinet has in effect resigned and what currently exists is a caretaker government.
“As a caretaker government, the current administration should only be doing just that, care taking, in other words ensuring the proper functioning of the country, paying salaries, ensuring security, etc. As a caretaker government, no new laws can should be passed and no new contracts signed. The government and the opposition, if they are interested in the development of Guyana, its prosperity and any semblance of (normality) , should ensure that a new chairperson of GECOM is in place within a matter of days. Once that has been done, the President should then announce a date for regional and general elections as outlined in the Constitution of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana and as emphasised upon … by the CCJ”, ANUG said.
It argued that failure to do these two things in the shortest possible time frame would signal “a continued disrespect and contempt for the Constitution and …for the nation’s highest court. This is not in the best interest of anyone in Guyana, except those who currently occupy the seat of Government”.
It added: “No citizen of Guyana will be better off for this continued disrespect and disregard of the supreme law and highest court in Guyana. Guyana is moving towards a path on which it can possibly face sanctions from the international community and be counted among the rogue and lawless states in the world. This is not a good place to be and can have untold and unimagined consequences. ANUG and all right-minded citizens of Guyana call upon the Government and Opposition to work together to save Guyana from these consequences. Both the PPP, PNC/ANPU and AFC have made this country a laughing stock long enough. This must end”.