–U.S.-based group writes Speaker
…says former MP did not inform Speaker on sway of support as law stipulates

THE U.S.-based Caribbean Guyana Institute for Democracy (CGID), with the support of several local and international attorneys, has asserted that passage of the no-confidence motion against the government is “null, void and of no legal effect.”
This, they say, is due to the breach of the constitution by former Alliance For Change (AFC) member Charrandas Persaud, who assented to the no-confidence motion without first declaring his intent to the Speaker

Since the passing of the motion on December 21, 2018 in the National Assembly, the news of Persaud’s controversial action has been labelled both as “a betrayal” and “heroic” as word of it swept across international media.

Discussions on the matter have climaxed further with the aggregation of several attorneys, which have found the stipulation of Article 106(7) of the constitution to be inconsistent with the motion’s passage.

Legal minds now debate the 65-member government and what constitutes a vote of “majority,” when the uneven figure when divided stands at 32.5 or 32 and supposedly “half a member” which is evidently impossible.

Adding to the legal voices against the motion’s passing is the CGID which wrote the Speaker of the National Assembly Dr. Barton Scotland on December 24, 2018 and to Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Basil Williams.

In the letter, the body put forward that Article 156:3 of Guyana’s constitution states that a member of the National Assembly elected on a list shall cease to be a member only under certain conditions.

These include that “he or she declares in writing to the Speaker or to the Representative of the list from which his or her name was extracted, that he or she will not support the list from which his or her name was extracted,” or that “he or she declares in writing to the Speaker or to the Representative of the list from which his or her name was extracted, his or her support for another list.”

In the letter signed by the organisation’s president Rickford Burke, the body stated that Persaud, by complying with neither of the guidelines, breached the constitution which should have seen the nullification of his act and his disqualification from the House.
“Evidently, Article 156:3 mandates that before a member acts against the List from which he or she was extracted, or in support of another List, a declaration of that intent must be first submitted to the Speaker, the consequence of which, or the failure to so declare, require nullification of the act by the Speaker and disqualification of the member from the Assembly,” the statement began.

The CGID said further that article 156:3 safeguards against the government “bringing itself down” and therefore stipulates “public withdrawal” or “public declaration of support” for any list.

“Honourable Speaker, on Friday, December, 21, 2018, Mr. Charrandas Persaud, then a member of the Assembly who was extracted from the APNU+AFC coalition List, voted in favour of the no-confidence motion that was tabled in the National Assembly by the parliamentary opposition, against the APNU+AFC coalition government of Guyana, enabling its passage. In so doing, Mr. Persaud publicly withdrew his support for the APNU+AFC coalition List from which he was extracted and declared his support for the PPP/C’s List.

“Consequently, in accordance with Article 156:3 (a) and (b) of the Guyana constitution, it is the position of CGID, having consulted with several attorneys in Guyana and internationally, that Mr. Charrandas Persaud’s vote for the no-confidence motion against the government on December 21, is null, void and of no legal effect, and should be vitiated,” they concluded. The CGID in the past has also added its voice to several issues affecting the country. These include condemning of the assassination of former Guyana Defence Force (GDF) officer Courtney Crum-Ewing; the torturing of local miners by Russian guards and the “arbitrary and undemocratic suspension of Guyana’s Parliament” by the opposition [then Government] in 2014.