By Alva Solomon

THE Government has maintained that it acted in accordance with the law when Minister of Communities Ronald Bulkan appointed Mabaruma’s Mayor and chairs of five Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs).

According to the government, an offer was made to the Opposition PPP/C in which the latter would have had the right to elect the senior posts in local authority areas based on the plurality of votes, but this was rejected by them.

Thursday at a joint press conference at the Attorney General’s Chambers in Carmichael Street, Georgetown, Bulkan and Minister of Legal Affairs and Attorney General Basil Williams noted, that the court action filed by the PPP/C on Wednesday, quashing the decision by Bulkan to appoint Mabaruma’s Mayor and the five NDC chairs at Woodlands/Farm, Woodlands/Bel Air, Malgre Tout/ Meer-Zorgen, Gibraltar-Fyrish and Industry-Plaisance was a case of misinterpretation of the law.

While the Government will abide by the judge’s ruling, it plans to challenge the order made on Wednesday.

The PPP/C filed for the orders on Wednesday in the High Court on the basis that the minister acted contrary to and in violation of Municipal and District Councils Act, Cap. 28:01. Justice Diana Insanally granted an interim order quashing the controversial appointments. Justice Insanally ordered the holding of fresh elections. The orders were filed by PPP/C Member of Parliament (MP) Attorney-at-law Anil Nandlall on behalf of fellow MP Zulfikar Mustapha.

Williams said that Chapter 28:01 explicitly states that the minister has the right to appoint the Mayor, Deputy Mayor and NDC Chairpersons for Local Authority Areas if the councillors cannot arrive at a consensus.

He added that the law was misconstrued and the applicants did not consider it in complete context, given that voters as prescribed by 16:06 of the local government laws would refer to the elected councillors.

He said the legislation explicitly states that the Mayor and Deputy Mayor cannot be elected by the electorate and according to him, it would unlawful to return to the polls for fresh elections to elect those persons.

Williams said Section 17 of the Municipal and District Councils Act, Cap 28:01 says that if the Mayor for any reason is unable to perform the functions of that office, then the Town Clerk must call a meeting of the councillors and if there is a tie, again, that tie has to be resolved by the minister.

“So it is clear contemplation that if there is a tie after voting by councillors, the minister should resolve the impasse by selecting one of the persons.”

He said if a by-election is called, the situation which occurred in Mabaruma “will have to happen again, since the order has rendered the duly elected Mayor from being unable to perform.”

Williams said the situation will return to the minister having the final say.

“The Town Clerk’s tasks will have to be activated again, for similarly produced results, if there is no clear winner at that election, then the tie has to be resolved by the minister,” he said.

Minister Bulkan told reporters that he did not receive any court papers relevant to the order made on Wednesday.

“To date, I have not been served any order from the court purporting to restrain me to quash the actions that I took and the decisions that I made in accordance with our interpretation of the law in selecting a Mayor in the case of Mabaruma and Chairpersons of the five NDC areas,” the minister noted.

DULY INFORMED

Speaking on the councillors and their participation in a second meeting, Bulkan said that the PPP councillors “were duly informed and notified by the overseers as well as by the Town Clerk as in the case of Mabaruma of that second meeting and provided with an agenda.”

He said the agenda outlined and established that the only purpose of the second meeting was for the election of either a Mayor or a Chairman in the case of the NDCs.

“So for example in the case of Woodlands/Farm, when the meeting terminated on the 31st March , all of the councillors would have been given a  notice in writing by the overseer, Shawn  Delbristol, inviting them to attend a second meeting for elections of Chairman and Deputy Chair for the Woodlands/Farm,” he said.

He said that by attending and participating in this second meeting, the PPP councillors accepted the legitimacy and validity of the process and the procedure which was adopted.

“So we find it strange that subsequent to that, that the PPP can file a court action purporting to say that the election of a Mayor should be done by a popular vote, when a complete reading of all of the sections of the act does not contemplate that,” Bulkan noted.

Questioned on similar instances in 1994, when by-elections were called in three instances raised by the PPP, Bulkan questioned why did the party participate in the second meeting if its members were aware of a different course of action.

Bulkan said the timeframe for the holding of the by-election is specified in the legislation and is given as a period of 15 days. He said it is the raft of measures that are required for the holding of elections which makes it impossible for by-elections to be held within that timeframe.

On the subject of inclusivity, he said that the Government would have preferred an accommodation and a political solution.

“That on the basis of plurality or in cases of ties, the party obtaining popular votes would be given the right to elect the chairpersons or the deputy chairman. That offer was not accepted by the PPP,” Bulkan noted.

Under the offer, the PPP would have been entitled to appoint the chairman and deputy of the NDCs at Malgre Tout/ Meer-Zorgen, Woodlands/Bel Air and Fyrish/Gibraltar.  On the other hand, the Government would have had the final say at Mabaruma, Industry/Plaisance and at Woodlands/Farm.

Bulkan said that it was following the non-acceptance of the offer of compromise in accordance with democratic principles  and in the interest of not allowing the PPP to dictate and determine the pace of reform and rehabilitation within “this damaged and system of local government,  that we decided that the business of councils must proceed expeditiously.”