…for the benefit of the nation, says President Ramotar
PRESIDENT Donald Ramotar, alluding to the situation in Parliament, said that the Opposition parties – A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance for Change (AFC), are “squandering the opportunity for working together with us in the interest of our nation”. He made this remark yesterday at a press conference at the Office of the President, Shiv Chanderpaul Drive, in Georgetown.
Adding that they are violating all parliamentary norms and practices, he noted that since the commencement of the 10th Parliament, the Guyanese public “has witnessed the willful efforts of APNU and the AFC to create a hostile atmosphere in the Chamber”.
“They are also bent on being uncooperative and disruptive. One can get the impression that they are trying to reverse the democratic gains that we have made since 1992,” he stated.
“The Parliament will be characterized, I believe, as the dictatorship of one, by the APNU and AFC – neither one having won individually a majority of votes over the lawful PPP/Civic Government, which has the largest block of votes,” he reminded.
He said this strategy had been revealed from the first meeting to elect the Speaker of the National Assembly and the Deputy Speaker.
“Despite efforts on my part in meeting individually with the APNU and AFC, and collectively at the inter-parliamentary political party dialogue, to reach consensus – the APNU and AFC plunged ahead to elect an AFC Speaker and APNU Deputy, thus breaking completely with traditions of Parliament,” he noted.
He said the second instance came with the election of the Committee of Selection on the floor of the House, stating, “Again, we had discussed this at our meetings, the Government raised the issue of the size and composition of members of parliamentary committees and to uphold the constitutional provisions with regard to proportionality of the electoral strength of the parties at the elections.”
Ramotar observed that both APNU and AFC totally ignored this and proceeded to take a majority on the Committee of Selection.
“The government had proposed five for the PPP/C; four APNU and one AFC – which would more accurately reflect proportionality of each party’s strength at the polls,” the President said.
He insisted, “APNU and AFC formula of equal seats for the Government and APNU and one for the AFC makes a mockery of the principle of proportionality.”
“Let me add this, that when the PPP, in 2006, in the Ninth Parliament, even when we had an absolute majority, it was we who set up the Parliamentary Management Committee and we had allowed five to the Opposition, and Government had five, with the Speaker chairing this session; but here again we see the tendencies of the Opposition,” he said.
The Head of State said having achieved this, APNU and AFC proceeded, at the first meeting of the Committee of Selection, to implement their formula for all committees and to bring motions to amend those committees “where it clearly states that the Government has the majority”.
“Some of these standing committees, where they say in the rules of the Parliament, that Government must have so much and Opposition so much, because they deal with issues directly related to the Government,” he pointed out, reiterating that they have moved to change that in the rules.
“The Government’s approach to the High Court on these violations of the Constitution is a significant step to protect the sanctity of the Constitution and stop this blatant and reckless disregard for parliamentary democracy,” the Head of State affirmed.
Also, he said that the Government also indicated to the Speaker that it would not participate in the elections of the Chairpersons in deference to the proceedings before the High Court.
“Nevertheless, the Committee, under the Speaker’s chairmanship, proceeded to elect APNU to chair three Parliamentary Committees; the others, one assumes, are pending their amendment of the Standing Orders to give the Government a minority on the Parliamentary Management Committee and on the four Sectoral Committees.
The Head of State pointed out that the Speaker now chairs seven Parliamentary Committees.
The next instance is related to the Supplementary Financial Papers, he said, where the Government raised its concern with the Speaker, regarding the erosion of the Standing Orders and the parliamentary customs and practice.
“The most recent case at the March 21 sitting, with regard to their own amendments to the Standing Orders, demonstrated their willful disregard for these provisions,” he insisted.
The Government’s protest led to the Speaker upholding these Standing Orders, the President reminded.
“The measures being pursued by APNU and AFC are intended to undermine the democratic gains we have made in parliamentary democracy since 1992,” the Head of State insisted.
“APNU has now gone on a campaign to rewrite history. I noted the continuing attempts by APNU to sow confusion among the population, as it seeks to justify its behaviour after the November, 28, 2011 elections, rather than admitting that it is deliberately misleading its supporters and the nation, and should offer an apology,” he said.
He recalled that, after the end of the 2006 elections, independent observers said that the database at the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) was the best this country had, and it should be built upon.
“The PNC (People’s National Congress) then started to insist and making threats and insisted on a new registration process. We had an agreement with them that we would go ahead with a new registration process abandoning the database that was recognised as the best database in Guyana, under the agreement that there will be no questions in the elections; but you see what has happened and how unprincipled they are,” he said.
He went on, “APNU should also tell the nation why, if it is so concerned about the elections results, they did not, along with the AFC, reject the proposal I made to them when they first raised this matter to me immediately after the elections, that we should have a forensic audit of the elections and let us go back into the box as we did after the 1997 elections, to see what were the real results, if they had any doubt in their mind.”
“It is rather unfortunate that after all its attempts to block a re-verification of the elections result, APNU continues to paint itself as a victim in this process,” he lamented.
He said in doing so, what APNU has also done is bring into question the integrity and competence of its very own supporters and polling agents, who were also either scrutineers and/ or counting agents.
“I reiterate my earlier statement that I am convinced that there were several instances of malpractice between strategically placed GECOM officials who infiltrated the system, and APNU, and I remain confident that the PPP/Civic did have a decisive victory of more than 50 percent of the national votes at the last elections,” he said.
“I have said that, and I am ready to go back into the box if they want to prove me wrong,” the President challenged.