…even if CCJ rules appointment unconstitutional

THE People’s Progressive Party (PPP), though maintaining that the appointment of Justice (Ret’d) James Patterson is unconstitutional, told the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) that it is willing to have him remain in office if early election is required this year.

People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Attorney, Douglas Mendes, on Wednesday, told the CCJ that while in normal circumstances the PPP would wish to have the appointment of Justice Patterson as Chairman of the Elections Commission quashed and a fresh process initiated for the appointment of a new chairman, it would respectfully ask the court to suspend such an order, if it is found that the appointment process was indeed flawed, but only if early election is mandated by the court.

“What I would ask the court to do, if the court does come to that conclusion, is to hear the parties again on what further consequential orders ought to be made. I am saying that because the orders that you make in this case if you are minded to set aside the appointment may be impacted by the results of the appeal which you are going to hear tomorrow,” (No-confidence motion) Mendes told the court on Wednesday.

At the time, he was responding to a series of questions posed by President of the Caribbean Court of Justice, Justice Adrian Saunders, in the appeal brought by Zulfikar Mustapha, who is challenging the Court of Appeal and High Court’s decisions to uphold Patterson’s appointment.

Mendes, in arriving at that position, took into consideration the appeal that will be heard today in the CCJ, challenging the Court of Appeal’s decision to invalidate the vote of no-confidence against the government.

“In other words, if the court were to conclude in that appeal that elections must be held – and it must be held in a short period of time, then we would want to address the court on whether, you ought to consider suspending quashing the appointment of the chairman in order that the election would not be disrupted,” Attorney Mendes explained.

In wrapping up his submissions in the GECOM Chairman Appointment matter, Mendes said the parties involved would only know how the playing field looks after the court makes a decision in the No-Confidence Motion case. “Certainly we wouldn’t want any order that you make in this case (GECOM Chairman Appointment) to disrupt an election that you ordered to be held if in fact you think that should be done,” Mendes said tentatively.

He noted that if the CCJ upholds the decision in the Court of Appeal and further invalidates the Vote of No-Confidence, there would be no need to suspend the quashing of the appointment, that’s if the court ruled that the process was flawed.

Starting today for a period of two days, Guyana’s final appellate court will hear extensive arguments on what constitutes an absolute majority in the 65-member National Assembly, all in an effort to determine whether the vote of no-confidence was valid or invalid.

The Court of Appeal in March, 2019, overturned the decision of the High Court and ruled that the vote of no-confidence was invalid. According to that court, the opposition needed 34 votes and not merely 33, in other to defeat the court – a position held by the government. The Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo; an ex-Government MP, Charrandass Persaud; and political activist, Christopher Ram, are now challenging the decision of the Court of Appeal at the level of the CCJ. The CCJ, in its final determination, will indicate whether 34 votes were required to carry the motion. Another disputed issue is whether one of the then Member of Parliament, Charrandass Persaud, who voted in favour of the motion, was ineligible to vote because he held dual citizenship.

The three consolidated cases are: Christopher Ram v The Attorney General, the Leader of the Opposition, Joseph Harmon and the Guyana Elections Commission; Bharrat Jagdeo v The Attorney General, the Speaker of the National Assembly, Joseph Harmon and the Guyana Elections Commission; and Charrandass Persaud v Compton Reid, the Speaker of the National Assembly, the Attorney General, Bharrat Jagdeo, Joseph Harmon and the Guyana Elections Commission. The coalition government, through the attorney general, has filed a cross appeal. Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams, and a battery of lawyers are representing the government.