Former Speaker of the National Assembly, Ralph Ramkarran has launched a scathing attack on The New Movement’s (TNM) Dr Asha Kissoon for not resigning from Parliament to make way for the third member of the list-joinder parties, ANUG.
Ramkarran, a member of A New and United Guyana (ANUG), said Kissoon’s fraudulent action has left her without any credibility. Under an arrangement among the Liberty and Justice Party (LJP), ANUG and TNM, Kissoon was to have relinquished her seat to the ANUG representative last year but has not done so up to now. Repeated queries to her by this newspaper for an explanation have not yielded a result.
In his column in yesterday’s Sunday Stabroek, Ramkarran noted that it was agreed with the TNM, which gained only approximately 500 votes and was entitled to only a three-month stint in the National Assembly, that the latter’s representative should take up the seat after LJP as if early elections were called, TNM would have lost the opportunity of sitting in the National Assembly.
“Despite the expiration of her entitled period, she has steadfastly refused to resign in accordance with the several agreements that punctuated this “joinder” electoral venture. Her perpetration of this fraud on her erstwhile colleagues and the tarnishing of the electoral process by her deceit has denuded her parliamentary status of any legitimacy”, he said.
He noted that the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) and the Speaker of the National Assembly have been engaged on the matter. Ramkarran pointed out that GECOM can only fill a vacancy but cannot appoint a new member of the National Assembly by displacing a member who holds a seat. Only the Speaker, he explained, can declare a seat to be vacant.
Ramkarran said that the TNM list representative has sought to have Kissoon removed from Parliament to no avail.
It said: “In December, 2008, Opposition Leader Mr. Robert Corbin invoked article 156 of the Constitution and section 2 of the Constitution (Amendment) Act 22 of 2007 in recalling Mr. James McAllister, then a PNCR/1G Member of Parliament. He wrote to the Speaker as follows: `In accordance with Article 156(3)(c) of the Constitution, I wish to notify you that after meaningful consultation with the Parties that make up the PNCR/1G List of Candidates, the said Parties have indicated to me that they have lost confidence in Mr. James McAllister as a Member of the National Assembly extracted from the said List. I hereby forward a formal Notice of Recall pursuant to Section 2(3)(c) of the Constitution (Amendment) Act 22 of 2007 that was sent to James McAllister. As Representative of the Peoples’ National Congress Reform-One Guyana I now request that you act in accordance with Article 156(4).’”
The Speaker then declared the seat vacant on 3 December, 2008, one day after receiving Corbin’s letter, and the Clerk informed the Chief Election Officer on the said 3 December, 2008. McAllister was replaced as a member.
Ramkarran said that on 14 March, 2024. Gerald Forde, the Representative of the TNM List of Candidates, wrote to the Speaker as follows: “This serves to inform you pursuant to article 156(3)(c) of the Constitution of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana that I, Gerald Forde, being Representative of the List from which Asha Kissoon was purportedly extracted that, after meaningful consultation with the parties which make up the List, the parties have lost confidence in Asha Kissoon and I have issued a Notice of Recall to Asha Kissoon, a copy of which is now forwarded to you herewith.”
Ramkarran said that there is no material difference between Corbin’s letter of 2 December, 2008, and Forde’s letter of 14 March, 2024. He said that Forde has not received a response to his letter and Kissoon still occupies her seat in the National Assembly without lawful justification which properly and morally belongs to the representative of ANUG.
“Dr Asha Kissoon did not ‘cross the floor’ but added a new dimension to Guyana’s long history of political infamy. With a shattered integrity, her respect and effectiveness in politics is over”, Ramkarran declared.
GECOM says it is “discussing” the matter while the Speaker of the National Assembly, Manzoor Nadir has been silent on the matter. There have been suggestions that Kissoon has been encouraged to stay in the seat to deprive ANUG of access to the National Assembly.
Questions have also been raised at GECOM as to if Forde is still the list representative.
