ARMED with a few options but with back-against-the-wall and recognition that his Government’s exhaustive ‘olive branch’ approaches and appeals to the Parliamentary Opposition to exercise political maturity have “fallen on deaf ears”, President Donald Ramotar yesterday issued a Proclamation to Prorogue (suspend) the 10th Parliament of Guyana.

The move to Prorogue Parliament, which puts a damper on the Opposition’s affirmation and commitment to go ahead with their controversial “no-confidence” motion against the Government during yesterday’s scheduled reconvening of the National Assembly, was well thought out in the interest of the country and the Guyanese people.
It was also widely anticipated and, as the President pointed out, well within the exercise of his Constitutional powers conferred on him by Article 70 (1) of the Constitution of the Republic of Guyana.

“Fellow Guyanese, I have taken this step with the hope that the time gained would be used for the benefit of our people. I wish to appeal to all for political maturity and the exercise of good judgment to put Guyana, our blessed nation, and, its people first.” – President Ramotar

President Ramotar’s Proclamation to Prorogue Parliament also lived up to the earlier hype and anticipation that yesterday will go down in history as the ‘Decision Day’ for the future of parliamentary governance in Guyana as currently represented in the 65-member National Assembly by the PPP/C and the Opposition alliance of APNU and AFC which, together, have a one-seat majority against the ruling party’s 32.

The President, in a televised address to the Guyanese Nation approximately 90 minutes prior to the scheduled reconvening of Parliament, said his decision to exercise this constitutional option was not taken lightly, but it was the sole recourse that was left to him to ensure that the life of the 10th Parliament was preserved.
“It is no secret that the Parliamentary Opposition parties had, at every conceivable opportunity, made known their clear intention to have their motion of ‘no-confidence’ against my Government debated instantly at the first post-recess sitting which was called for today, November 10. Their one-seat majority in Parliament could only mean its passage and the immediate irreversible dissolution of Parliament,” the President said in his address.
“My appeals to return to normalcy, to constructively address the many important issues confronting us in Guyana, appear to have fallen on deaf ears,” the President lamented.
According to him, the Opposition in Parliament intends to end the life of the 10th Parliament with immediate effect, dashing all hopes for urgent attention to issues relating to economic growth, social services and the holding of Local Government Elections.

President Ramotar alluded to the fact that some may ask why is it that his Government has gone this Constitutional route and not go along with the debate. “The answer lies in the practical choice between an atmosphere of confrontation, as the ‘no confidence’ motion debate would fuel, or that of possible accommodation, as a prorogued Parliament can facilitate, if there is a genuine intent on all sides,” the President posited.

“I also want to assure all that my decision ensures that the life of the 10th Parliament is preserved up to a maximum of six months, as permitted by the Constitution of Guyana,” the President said.
He also told the Guyanese people, in his address to the Nation: “I pledge to you, to have my administration use that time during the period of prorogation to continue to engage the Parliamentary Opposition in constructive ways, in addressing the issues confronting Guyana.”
President Ramotar also made it clear that during this period of prorogation, his Government will continue to attend to the provision of basic goods and services. “Your Government intends to abide strictly to the Constitutional provisions relating to this period. I will not allow any interruption of the stability and progress of our nation. Further, we will be keeping all stakeholders abreast of developments.”
The President also issued an appeal for “political maturity and the exercise of good judgment” in putting Guyana and its people first.
“Fellow Guyanese, I have taken this step with the hope that the time gained would be used for the benefit of our people. I wish to appeal to all for political maturity and the exercise of good judgment to put Guyana, our blessed nation, and, its people first.”

President Ramotar also recalled that, in an earlier address to the Guyanese Nation on November 4, he had indicated his Government’s desire for the National Assembly, in its post-recess sittings, to deliberate and give priority to important matters relating to “the development of our country and the future of all of our people.”
“I also extended a hand to the Opposition for us to put the nation’s business first rather than political gamesmanship,” the President said.
“I further advised that should I be provided with reasons to believe that the Parliamentary Opposition intends to disrupt Government’s business by forcing a debate on their ‘no-confidence’ motion, I resolved to respond immediately by exercising my Constitutional options to either Prorogue or Dissolve Parliament paving the way for holding of General Elections,” the President declared.
President Ramotar indicated, however, that it is his genuine desire to have the prorogation of the 10th Parliament ended sooner were his Government and the Opposition to reach an agreement for a return to normalcy.
“Further, were these entreaties of cooperation by my Government to be unsuccessful, I would then take the necessary steps for the holding of early General Elections so that the democratic will of our people can be freely exercised,” President Ramotar told the nation.

DRAMA INSIDE & OUTSIDE THE HOUSE
Reports that the President decided to Prorogue (suspend) Parliament began circulating early yesterday morning, and was confirmed in his televised address to the nation at 12:30 pm, some 90 minutes before the scheduled start of the post-recess sitting of the National Assembly.
This, many felt, would have averted the looming showdown in the National Assembly. However, in dramatic fashion, all 33 Members of the joint parliamentary Opposition (APNU and AFC) turned up for what became a ‘special meeting’ convened by the Speaker Mr. Raphael Trotman, comprising only Opposition parliamentarians, in the 65-seat National Assembly. No Member from the governing PPP/C showed up.
Speaker Raphael Trotman, addressing the Opposition Members of Parliament (MPs), described the move by President Ramotar to prorogue the 10th Parliament as “most unfortunate and undemocratic”.
Dubbing the move an “illegality”, Trotman recalled the suspension of Guyana’s Constitution in the 1950s, and said this current development is more distasteful, as then (in the 1950s), it was done by the mother country but now it is being done by our own.
“It has been a long and arduous road that brought us here, a road filled with features of impediments, imperfection, imponderables and even impudent of times. Along the way, we have slipped and slid from the sublime to the ridiculous and even from scandal to threats,” Trotman asserted.
Trotman said democracy in Guyana will enter into a new orbit and will see Guyana’s Parliament joining the ranks of Parliaments that have passed through fire and turmoil.
“Along the way I have learnt, today a spec tomorrow a hero. Hero or monster you are consumed, like a jig shakes the loom, all are involved and all are consumed,” Trotman said.
Leader of the Opposition, Brigadier (Rtd.) David Granger told the meeting that yesterday was “the darkest day for democracy in Guyana”. Granger said his party, A Partnership for National Unity, is enraged at President Ramotar’s promulgation of a Proclamation to Prorogue Parliament. According to him, the Proclamation has effectively “paralysed the parliamentary process and smothered the voices of the people’s legitimate representatives in the National Assembly”.
“It is an affront to the Guyanese people who, three years ago, in November 2011, voted for A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance For Change (AFC) to have the majority of seats in the National Assembly,” Granger declared.
Staring at the empty seats on the Government side of the House, Granger told the ‘special meeting’ that President Ramotar has now single-handedly engineered a constitutional crisis.
“He has no grounds for his crude smothering of parliamentary independence,” the Opposition Leader said, adding that APNU will not accept this denial of democracy and will not be intimidated by the PPP/C’s dictatorial behaviour.
“APNU is resolved to resist the President’s Proclamation. APNU calls on all the good people of Guyana everywhere to join in a civil movement for the restoration of parliamentary democracy by peacefully resisting the PPP/C’s resort to dictatorship and to call for the revocation of this Proclamation,” Granger said.
Also addressing the ‘special meeting’ yesterday were APNU’s Shadow Finance Minister Mr. Carl Greenidge, AFC Leader Mr. Khemraj Ramjattan and AFC Vice Chairman, Mr. Moses Nagamootoo, in whose name the ‘no confidence’ motion was moved, and APNU Member Mr. Basil Williams.

(By Mark Ramotar)