A date for the holding of highly anticipated general elections may be set this week as President David Granger will tomorrow be meeting with the full Cabinet to discuss the issue.
“…we have had the first meeting and it will be coming up again…the fuller Cabinet will meet again on Tuesday. I have given them copies [of correspondence from the Guyana Elections Commission],” Granger said yesterday, on the sidelines of the second annual conference of the International Decade for People of African Descent Assembly-Guyana.
Elections are due following the successful passage of a no-confidence motion against the government on December 21 last year.
“This is urgent,” Granger added, while assuring that the meeting will be held this week.
Last Thursday, GECOM Chairperson Justice (ret’d) Claudette Singh informed Granger in a letter that the commission will be ready for elections by the end of February next year. The president told a Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA) business luncheon shortly after that he was committed to having elections and was only awaiting word from the one body that was constitutionally responsible for them.
“This decision is not whimsical. I must be advised that the Elections Commission is in a state of readiness to conduct elections. It would be reckless of me to name a date for the holding of elections without ascertaining the Commission’s readiness to do so,” he had said.
“I have indicated to the Elections Commission that I would like to see elections at the earliest time possible. I shall proclaim a date for general and regional elections once I am advised by the Elections Commission that it is in a state of readiness,” he added.
He also said that he would have, after the luncheon, be meeting with members of his Cabinet.
Yesterday, he explained that while the meeting was held, all the members of the Cabinet were not present since some were on travel or other duty.
In a response to Stabroek News for clarity on a question posed to the President, senior presidential aide Ariana Gordon indicated that Granger said that he cannot name a date until he discusses the matter with his entire Cabinet.
“He said, he will meet Cabinet Ministers on Tuesday. He met a few Thursday. Some are travelling. After consultations with them, he will be able to name a date. He cannot do so in isolation of consultation,” she told this newspaper.
“He looks forward to naming a date soonest but cannot anticipate it will be Tuesday. So basically it could be…or not…[It] all depends on consultations,” she added.
Granger has been under pressure to announce a date for the polls.
The United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union on Thursday added their voices to the call for a date to be set immediately in light of the advice Granger received earlier in the day from GECOM. They also lamented that the government is in breach of the Constitution and said this would hinder their ability to support Guyana’s development needs.
“…By surpassing September 18, the Government is currently in breach of the Constitution following its failure to adhere to the decisions of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) on 18 June and its subsequent orders.
“This situation comes at great cost to the people of Guyana. The prevailing political uncertainty undermines Guyanese institutions, compromises economic opportunities and delays development across all areas including infrastructure, education, health, and social services. It also hinders our ability to support Guyana’s development needs.
“We therefore call upon the President to set an elections date immediately in full compliance with Guyana’s Constitution,” they said in a joint statement.
The AFC and the WPA both disagreed with the Joint Statement though they have expressed hope that a date for elections will now be swiftly identified.
According to the AFC, the fact that the CCJ never issued Orders that elections must be held on or before September 18th, but instead indicated that it must be held at the earliest opportunity when the various stakeholders, including GECOM, are ready makes this position of the US, UK and EU very unfortunate.
“Additionally, we remind all that the Chief Justice, Roxane George, in a recent decision discredited the assertion that the CCJ settled on a drop-dead date of 18th September, 2019 for the next Elections,” the party reminded.
For its part, the WPA rejected the joint statement, while noting that the constitutional requirement for an election date 90 days after a no-confidence motion must be tied to GECOM’s readiness to hold those elections.
“It is our considered view that had the president named an election date without ascertaining GECOM’s readiness, he would’ve been in breach of the Constitution. While we respect the concerns of the ABE countries we cannot agree with their treatment of Article 106 (6) of the Constitution in isolation of the political realities of the country,” WPA member and Minister of Public Service Tabitha Sarabo-Halley explained, while expressing concern that the diplomats had “overplayed” their hands by pronouncing on such a politically polarised issue.
The party further expressed concern about the veiled threat by the countries that Guyana could face sanctions.
According to Sarabo-Halley, such sanctions should be a last resort in international relations and should be only activated when countries violate sacred international laws. “In this instance, the Guyanese government is in the clear. The charge of violating the Constitution is part of the PPP’s narrative of demonisation of the government,” she concluded.
The Bar Council of the Guyana Bar Association has also rebuked the government for not holding elections as constitutionally required.
It said on Friday that “by failing to abide by the clear and unambiguous terms of the Constitution, the Government of Guyana has abdicated its responsibility, violated the Constitution, is operating outside of the rule of law and in breach of internationally recognised standards of democracy.”
