Dear Editor,
The government’s statement issued on the 13th July, 2019, following the consequential Orders issued by the Caribbean Court of Justice on the 12th July, 2019, first accepted that it is an “interim government” but rejected the Constitutional requirement for the Cabinet including the President to resign by stating “Cabinet has not stopped functioning …” It is important to note also that in the government’s statement, with its acceptance that it is an “interim government”, it completely ignored the “caretaker” title which was specifically referenced even before the “interim” title by the CCJ ruling at paragraph 8 of the consequential Orders where it stated “(T)he government continues in office as a caretaker government or an interim government …”.
To emphasize the obligation for the Cabinet including the President to resign upon a vote of no confidence in Parliament the CCJ stated at paragraph 5 of the consequential Orders:
“The judiciary interprets the Constitution. But, as we intimated in our earlier judgment, these particular provisions require no gloss on the part of the Court in order to render them intelligible and workable. 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 question of course needs to be asked and answered why would the government accept one part of the ruling and ignore and reject other parts? The answer is that the government is ashamed for the Cabinet including the President to go through the act of resigning. Resignation by the Cabinet and the President would be an admission of failure and defeat. In addition, the government is also ashamed to acknowledge the “caretaker” status having said to the entire nation that there is no such concept as a “caretaker” concept in Guyana. The acknowledgment would be an admission of being wrong.
The bottom line is that this government will forever be recorded as the first government in Guyana’s history which lost a no confidence vote and despite its refusal and its ashamedness the Constitution states that Cabinet including the President are required to resign and the government is now a caretaker government or interim government.
Yours faithfully,
Charles S. Ramson
Attorney at Law
