Under growing international pressure, President David Granger yesterday issued a proclamation which names March 2, 2020 as the date for the next General and Regional Elections.
The proclamation declared that the President, by the power vested in him by Article 61 of the Constitution of Guyana, to by proclamation, appoint the day for an election under Article 60 (2) appoints 2nd March 2020 as the day on which an election of members of the National Assembly shall be held.
The Constitution at Article 61 states: “An election of members of the National Assembly under Article 60 (2) shall be held on such day within three months after every dissolution of Parliament as the President shall appoint by proclamation.”
Similarly, President Granger via a second proclamation has named 2nd March, 2020 as the day on which elections of members of the Regional Democratic Councils shall be held.
Article 73 (2) of the Constitution provides that “Elections of members of regional democratic councils shall be held and the councils shall be dissolved at such times as, subject to paragraph (3), the President may appoint by proclamation.”
The proclamation comes nearly one week after Granger announced March 2 as the earliest possible date for the holding of elections in keeping with an end of February readiness timeline communicated by the Chairman of the Elections Commission.
It also comes two days after the Organization of American States (OAS) said it was looking “forward to the issuance of the proclamation required by Guyana’s Constitution to firmly establish the date for the elections.”
In his address to the nation last Wednesday the President had stopped short of issuing a proclamation arguing instead that Parliament must meet to grant an extension of the period for polls.
Granger said that Parliament would meet on October 10th for the purpose of requesting an extension of the three-month period for the holding of general elections in the aftermath of a successful motion of no-confidence.
Article 106 (7) of the constitution says that “Notwithstanding 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 election”.
One day later the President said that while his choice of words were conditional the date is not.
“Elections will be held on the 2nd March. That is the advice I received. I did not want to use perhaps more definitive terms, because I expected that in accordance with the Constitution, we would have to go to Parliament, but if the Opposition doesn’t go to Parliament, well we will abide by what I said last night. Elections will be on the 2nd March. That is as definitive as I can get,” he told reporters at the Cyril Potter College of Education.
