FORMER President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo has no interest in pursuing a third term and even if this were the case, revising the constitutional provisions that limit presidential term limits, will require a consensual approach. Head of the Presidential Secretariat (HPS), Dr Roger Luncheon, made this declaration yesterday, during his weekly post Cabinet press briefing, which was held at Office of the President as he weighed in on the recent approach to the court challenging the existing presidential term limits.

Attorney-At-Law, Shawn Allicock, on Monday, approached the High Court on behalf of Cedric Richardson, a 56-year-old West Ruimveldt, Georgetown, resident, challenging the constitutionality of the presidential two-term limit.
According to Dr Luncheon, the former President has basically said: “I ain’t involved. I ain’t interested and I don’t know where it is coming from.”
Since the filing of the writ, speculations about the former President’s future endeavours, relative to holding Constitutional office, have been bandied around – speculations that Dr Luncheon termed “deliberate acts” to create uncertainty ahead of the May 11 General and Regional elections.
However, he said, “He (Dr Jagdeo) remains committed to not pursuing any further appointment to an elected constitutional office or post in Guyana.”
The Head of the Presidential Secretariat also indicated that this position is consistent with the former President’s earlier comments on holding office again.
“He insists that it is a position of principle, consistent with earlier declarations to the public,” Dr Luncheon said.

CONSENSUAL APPROACH
The HPS also hinted that, moving forward on the matter, a consensual approach may be the better option.
“The Constitutional amendment that included the term limits arose at a historic time in the evolution of the return to democracy in Guyana…if the argument is that we have matured and that amendment needs to be dispensed with, then one would have to have a similar such process,” he said.
Considering that the matter is before the courts, the HPS declined to comment further on the matter, citing the sub-judice principle.
“The Constitutional motion that has been filed, indeed, precludes not only myself, but others, from adopting public positions,” Dr Luncheon said.
When asked about Cabinet’s specific position on the matter, Dr Luncheon said the ruling People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) has abided by the provisions of the reformed Constitution.
WITHDRAW AND REFILED
Meanwhile, the legal challenge, initially filed on Monday, was withdrawn and replaced on Tuesday with a new Constitutional Motion.
The contentious Constitutional provision, Article 90 (2) states that: “A person elected as President after 2000 is eligible for re-election only once.”
Richardson contends that the Constitutional provision “curtails” or “delimits” the electorate’s choice of a presidential candidate, such as Dr Jagdeo, by imposing a term limit.
“I believe that the illegal effect and consequence of the purported alteration is not only to curtail and restrict the democratic rights of the electorate in choosing a person as President, but to purport to amend the Articles 1 and 9 of the 1980 Constitution, which allowed the electorate to elect as president a person who had been re-elected,” he said.
According to him, such a change to the Constitution, which impacted on the freedoms of the electorate, should have been done via a referendum.
In other words, Richardson contends that the provision of the constitution, which imposes a term limit on the presidency, is unconstitutional; and that the procedure and process by which that provision was placed in the constitution is unlawful.
Speaker of the National Assembly, Raphael Trotman, and Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, have been named as the respondents in the matter.
No date has been set as yet for a hearing of the matter in the High Court.

(By Vanessa Narine)