AG praises legal team for Court of Appeal victory
…says ruling means business as usual for government

ATTORNEY General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams, has deemed the outcome of Friday’s Court of Appeal ruling on the confidence vote a “team effort,” as the government will go about with business as usual following the ruling.

Noting that his legal team stretched the extremities of the law, the AG told reporters outside the Court of Appeal in Kingston that he always believed that the absolute majority is stronger than the simple majority, the major grounds on which the ruling was made.

Acting Chancellor of the Judiciary, Yonette Cummings-Edwards and Justice Dawn Gregory both ruled that an absolute majority, rather than a simple majority, was needed to carry the no-confidence motion which was passed in the National Assembly last December.

In their ruling, this meant that 34 rather than 33 votes were needed for the Bharrat Jagdeo-tabled motion to be passed, effectively overturning the ruling made in January this year by Chief Justice , Roxane George –Wiltshire. Justice Rishi Persaud, the third Appeal Court Judge, ruled that 33 votes were needed for the majority.

Outside the courtroom on Friday, the attorney general told reporters that, “the proper principle was applied to the computation and calculation of the vote.” He said the ruling of the court means that it is business as usual for the government. As regards the way forward, Williams said President David Granger and other members of the government will decide on when elections will be held. “The court’s decision now prevails,” Williams said.

Meanwhile, Vice President and Minister of Foreign Affairs Carl B Greenidge, who is performing the duties of President in a statement issued on March 22nd 2019 assured Guyanese that the Government is pleased with the decision made by the Court of Appeal regarding the No Confidence Motion. Vice President Greenidge made the point that Government is legal and remains in office. He indicated that that democracy in Guyana remains robust, while urging Guyanese everywhere to respect the ruling of the Courts. Greenidge also made the point that Parliament will conduct its business unhindered and will reconvene soonest.

For his part Opposition lawyer and former Attorney General, Anil Nandlall, said that he is disappointed for he felt that 33 always constituted a majority in the National Assembly. Asked about the way forward, he said it was always an accepted fact by all sides that the case will go to the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) as he noted the importance of the matter. Nandlall said the effect of the decision will see the party dealing with the consequences of the ruling.

Senior Counsel Neil Boston , who was among a battery of lawyers in the case, told media operatives that when the matter goes to the CCJ it cannot be held within a matter of days, as asserted by Nandlall.” They will take one case of the CCJ, that is, the Attorney General against Bharrat Jagdeo,” he clarified.

He said that he is”certainly” confident that the CCJ will rule in the government’s favour whenever the case is called up in that court. Meanwhile, the ruling on Friday afternoon saw many Guyanese being gravitated to newsfeeds on social media platform Facebook for news on the outcome of the appeal. In some instances, persons were unaware of the complexity of the rulings, as many were of the opinion that one judge was expected to deliver a decision on the matter.

As the hours stretched and seconds ticked, commentators under news feeds made the necessary clarifications for the man-in-the street and opinions were put to the fore, as the decisions by the judges were made. While there was no crowd at the Court of Appeal, a few supporters of the opposition sat around the environs of the court as the rulings were made by the three judges. Later, as night stepped in, a few dejected looks and some smiling faces emerged and stood outside the court after the court session ended.

Former Member of Parliament of the People’s National Congress Reform, James McAllister, in reacting to the news, declared: ”The Social Coup D’etat has failed. The PSC, the Stabroek News, the Bar Association and Civil Society have been exposed.” McAllister said it is time for the nation to do an introspection, because these events stripped us of supposed voices of reason that would normally be needed in times of political conflict. “On this occasion they abdicated their responsibility and adopted a partisan posture to turf out a legally elected government. They did their best to prevent the court from doing its work,” Mc Allister said. He added: “However, this is not time for gloating, harassing or otherwise hostile [behaviour]. We went through a traumatic period as a nation. Now is the time for healing. There is no one more suited than President David Granger to lead this effort.”