…Constitutional reform to target no confidence motion provision
…President says ‘nonsense’ tried by PPP will not happen again

By Navendra Seoraj

FOR several months Guyana was in political and constitutional gridlock because of ambiguities which exist in the constitution, especially with regard to the Act governing a no-confidence motion, but President David Granger said those ambiguities will be addressed once the incumbent APNU+AFC coalition is re-elected to office on March 2, 2020.
On December 21, 2018, the parliamentary opposition, by way of a no-confidence motion, attempted to topple the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) government; the motion was passed by the National Assembly.

The opposition had secured the support of then government Member of Parliament Charrandass Persaud to get an edge over the government in the House. For months, after the passage of the motion by the National Assembly, the matter had engaged all the local courts because of existing ambiguities. At the High Court, the passage of the motion was upheld by Chief Justice (ag), Roxane George-Wiltshire, but the Court of Appeal invalidated the motion on the basis that an absolute majority of 34 votes was needed.

The matter subsequently reached the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), where it was ruled that the opposition-sponsored motion was validly passed. President Granger, in expressing his dissatisfaction with what had transpired during the 12 months after the passage of the motion, said: “We are going to reform the constitution so that the nonsense they tried with us over the last 12 months does not happen again.”

The President was at the time speaking to a massive crowd of APNU+AFC supporters, who gathered at D’Urban Park on Friday evening for the official launch of the coalition’s elections campaign.
President Granger said the opposition People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) had argued that the government was illegal after passage of the motion, but he told supporters: “We are a constitutional government…everything we have done for the last 12 months was in accordance with the law and in accordance with the constitution, but we will continue the work of reforming the constitution.”

President Granger in his New Year message to the nation had said: “We can look forward to living in a country which enjoys high levels of growth and human development and with an accountable government and greater equality…constitutional reform will allow for the easier resolution of political differences.”

In a report in December, Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo had also noted that the recent troubles regarding the no-confidence motion could have been avoided, had the process been allowed to move forward.

“For me, constitutional reform is not a political slogan; it is not a protest note on a placard,” the PM said, adding: “We have seen how a no-confidence motion to remove a democratically elected government on December 21, 2018 had spawned protracted legal contentions regarding the threshold for a simple, as distinct from an absolute majority, and the role of dual citizens in our national parliamentary system.

“Had the reform process got underway as I was hoping, certain ambiguities would have been cleared up. The society could have been saved the unnecessary burden of literally marking time, now for just under one year.”

Prime Minister Nagamootoo said constitutional reform cannot be an academic exercise or a bureaucratic escapade, as it involves a process which must start with consultation and consensus. Upon entering office, he immediately set up a steering committee which produced a report.

A Constitutional Reform Commission was established in Parliament, comprising Attorney-General and Minister of Legal Affairs Basil Williams, who is the Chairman; Minister of Public Security Khemraj Ramjattan; Minister of Education Dr. Nicolette Henry; Minister of Natural Resources Raphael Trotman; and then Minister of the Public Service Dr. Rupert Roopnaraine. Opposition Members of Parliament (MPs) on the Commission include Anil Nandlall, Priya Manickchand, Dr. Frank Anthony, and Adrian Anamayah.

However, reform requires the support of at least two-thirds of the House, and while the government is willing, Minister Nagamootoo said that the opposition has been ambivalent about the process. In December 2018, a meeting called by AG Williams was attended only by the government MPs. He stated at the time that the opposition continues to stall the work of the committee, which has met only five times since being constituted.

Seeking to advance constitutional reform in September 2018, the Prime Minister’s Office, in partnership with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNCEF), Guyana had released a joint report on the ‘Review of the Constitution of the Cooperative Republic in Relation to the Rights of the Children.’ PM Nagamootoo had expressed optimism that it will become a base document to be shared with the constitutional commissioners.

“I did what, in law, should be done; that is, to table in the National Assembly a bill to set up a Constitutional and Consultative Constitutional Reform Commission. After its first reading, it was, by consent of the parliamentary political parties, sent to the House’s bi-partisan committee that was established under the Constitution to look at matters such as this,” PM Nagamootoo explained. He said the committee did not, for some three years, conclude its examination of the bill.

“The facts will show that the APNU+AFC government had taken an initiative; there is no evidence, however, that the opposition wanted to review or reform the Constitution– at least not now,” the prime minister declared.

He said that in a society where any major reform has to receive the support of two-thirds of all the elected members of the National Assembly, it would be futile to get any such changes until the government and the opposition fully buy into the process. This, he said, has to await the 2020 elections, after which constitutional reform will be placed on the front burner.