The Opposition APNU+AFC is accusing President Irfaan Ali of consulting in bad faith following the first meeting between him and Leader of the Opposition, Aubrey Norton.
The two leaders met last Friday in their official capacities for the first time where a number of preliminaries were clarified on appointments to constitutional commissions. That meeting was a result of an invitation from President Ali to Norton.
Yesterday, Norton hosted his first press conference as Leader of Opposition where he addressed a number of issues including the recent meeting with the President. At last Friday’s meeting, Norton requested the curriculum vitae of proposed appointees be provided for perusal prior to future discussions and President Ali has agreed to make those documents available to him.
When asked about this, Norton related that while he has received “some” CVs, the other materials are still outstanding and not in keeping with the tenets of meaningful consultation.
While the Leader of the Opposition did not speak broadly on the meeting, APNU+AFC Shadow Attorney General, Roysdale Forde SC did read the party’s statement relating to the consultation.
“The Opposition insists and demands that it expects that the consultation must be in strict compliance with the Letter and spirit of the Constitution,” Forde said.
Forde was part of Norton’s team that attended the meeting.
He said that Article 232 of the Constitution provides for “consultation” or “meaningful consultation” and that it was incumbent on the person or entity responsible for seeking consultation to “(a) Identify the persons or entities to be consulted and specify to them in writing the subject of the consultation and an intended date for the decision on the subject of consultation.” He added that the constitution contemplates that meaningful consultation involves full, effective and genuine engagement as opposed to formal and unproductive ones.
Forde also pointed to Article 232 (b) of the Constitution which states that adequate time and information must be given for the Party being consulted to respond.
“The Party providing the information is also required to provide all the material and the grounds on which the specific recommendations were made. Adequate time to respond on the subject matter of the Consultation is essential as the Party being consulted is allowed to take such steps as may be appropriate and requisite in order to be prepared to tender effective and meaningful advice and to ensure meaningful consultation,” he explained.
Laying out the circumstances behind their contention that the meeting with the President did not amount to meaningful consultation, Forde highlighted that Norton received a letter dated April 29, 2022, from Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira inviting him to a meeting with the President to consult on several Constitutional appointments on Friday, May 13.
The Leader of the Opposition responded on May 9 in which he indicated that he stood ready to fulfil the constitutional responsibilities and pointed out that the initial letter was vague and did not provide any information relating to the constitutional appointments which would be addressed.
Teixeira responded on May 11 where she listed the Integrity Commission, Judicial Service Commission, Police Service Commission and persons proposed by the President to be appointed to the Teaching Service Commission as areas to be discussed.
“The Leader of the Opposition in a Letter dated the 12th day of May 2022, whilst restating his commitment to discharge his Constitutional obligations and particularly, to engage in consultations as required by law, felt compelled to underscore that the Letter dated the 11th day of May 2022, from Ms Gail Teixeira, was bereft of any material upon which he would form an opinion on the subjects of the proposed consultation.
“The Leader of the Opposition pointed out that the communication received to date from Ms Gail Teixeira, in respect of the proposed consultation were all vague, woefully inadequate and insufficient to significantly advance the consultative process envisioned and provided for in the relevant Constitutional and statutory provisions,” Forde said.
According to Forde, the Leader of the Opposition is of the view that the government’s brevity with information did not afford him a reasonable opportunity to effectively participate in the proposed consultation process.
“To date, the material and grounds on which the recommendations of persons for appointments to the Constitutional and Statutory Commissions remain with the President. Hence, the consultation process has not been in accordance with the requirements of meaningful consultation,” Forde said.
Norton told the media that no communication has been received from the government as to when the two leaders would meet again.
Following the meeting last week, a joint statement was issued by both parties which identified the areas discussed and the way forward.
The statement said that during the meeting, it was further agreed that the “consultations will be guided by the Constitution and the in-person consultations will resume on a date to be fixed, but within a week”.
Under the laws of this country, the President and the Opposition Leader must hold consultations, guided by the respective clauses, for the appointment of the Commissioner of Police, Chancellor of the Judiciary, and Chief Justice.
Ali had refused to meet the previous Leader of the Opposition, Joseph Harmon on the grounds that he did not recognise the government. That condition was later dropped but there was no meeting as the PNCR held internal elections and Harmon was defeated in the contest for party leader by Norton. Harmon subsequently resigned under pressure from within the PNCR but it would be weeks before Norton was officially added to the opposition parliamentary lineup. He was then elected Opposition Leader.
