Attorney and chartered accountant Christopher Ram has moved to the High Court for an order to stop the national house-to-house registration exercise that is currently being conducted by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), while saying that it is being undertaken in violation of the Constitution.
By way of a fixed date application, which was filed yesterday and is due to come up for hearing before acting Chief Justice Roxane George-Wiltshire SC this morning, Ram’s attorneys have asked the court to declare that the registration exercise is in violation of the letter and spirit of the Constitution and the judgment and consequential orders made by the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) in the consolidated cases stemming from the passage of a no-confidence motion against government last December.
The action is also asking that the court declare the entire exercise “illegal, unlawful, ultra vires, unconstitutional, null, void and of no effect” and contrary to Articles 161A and 162 of the Constitution, and the National Registration Act.
Apart from the declarations being sought, Ram’s attorneys are also asking the court for a conservatory order prohibiting GECOM from continuing to conduct the registration process and an order to compel the Chief Election Officer to take all steps necessary to hold elections on or before September 18th, 2019, which they argue would be in compliance with Article 106(6) and (7) and the decisions of the court.
Article 106 (6) says Cabinet, including the President, shall resign if the government is defeated by the vote of a majority of all the elected members of the National Assembly on a vote of confidence. Article 106 (7) adds, “Not-withstanding its defeat, the Government shall remain in office and shall hold an election within three months, or such longer period as the National Assembly shall by resolution supported by not less than two-thirds of the votes of all the elected members of the National Assembly determine, and shall resign after the President takes the oath of office following the elections.”
Against this background, Ram wants the court to compel GECOM, the Chief Election Officer, and/or Commissioner of National Registration to immediately take what he says would be all steps necessary for the holding of the elections.
The application argues that since passage of the motion against the David Granger-led administration, neither the Cabinet nor President has resigned; nor has the Head of State issued a proclamation dissolving the National Assembly or fix a date for elections to be held within the three months as is stipulated by Article 106 of the Constitution.
The attorney’s application points out that though the CCJ has declared the motion against government to have been validly passed, thus causing the clear provisions of Article 106 to be immediately engaged, the Cabinet has not resigned and, in deliberate defiance of the orders made by the CCJ, and in willful and flagrant violation of Article 106 (6) and (7), the President has not issued a proclamation dissolving Parliament nor fixed a date no later than September 18th for elections.
Ram says that he has been advised that there is no way that the house-to-house registration process can be completed before September 18th, which he said would further aggravate violations of the constitution and grossly disrespect the judgments, pronouncements and orders of the CCJ.
Ram is of the view that if the house-to-house registration exercise is permitted to continue, “it will constitute a flagrant violation, not only of the constitution but on the rule of law and will be an assault on constitutional democracy.”
He says he fears that in order to complete the registration exercise within what he calls “an impossible timeframe,” it will result in thousands of person being unlawfully deregistered and will omit to register thousands of qualified registrants, thereby resulting in a loss of their right to vote at the next elections.
Ram is being represented by a battery of attorneys, including Anil Nandlall, Senior Counsel Ralph Ramkarran, Kamal Ramkarran, Devindra Kissoon, Euclin Gomes, Manoj Narayan, Sasha Mahadeo-Narayan, Rajendra Jaigobin, Mark Conway, George Thomas and Marcia Nadir-Sharma.
GECOM, the Chief Election Officer and the Attorney General are named as the respondents.
In a full page advertisement of this newspaper last week, Ram said he will be boycotting the house-to-house registration because it is unconstitutional, even as he called on fellow Guyanese of similar conviction to do likewise.
While it has been the position of the APNU+AFC coalition government that the exercise is an important prerequisite to the holding of credible elections, both Ram and the opposition People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) say it would be in contravention of the Constitution.
The PNCR and the WPA, two constituents of the governing coalition, have welcomed the exercise, while the PPP has called it illegal and urged that GECOM prepare for general and regional elections instead.
The CCJ recently ruled that the passage of a no-confidence motion against the government on December 21st, 2018 was valid and that the clear
provisions of Article 106 immediately became engaged.
The ruling has bolstered calls by the opposition for polls to be held by September 18th, three months from the date of the CCJ’s ruling, while government has maintained its call for registration to be held before the polls.
An ongoing joint process to appoint a Chairperson of GECOM is yet to bear fruit. Government has said the appointment of a chairperson is pivotal to the holding of the polls.
Meanwhile, GECOM has said that while it is undertaking the registration exercise, concurrent operational activities for the preparation of general and regional elections are also underway.
