FOLLOWING Tuesday’s ruling by the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) on the no-confidence motion and accompanying legal proceedings, the Western diplomatic community is calling on all sides of the political divide to respect the ruling of the regional court.

United States Ambassador to Guyana, Sarah-Ann Lynch; United Kingdom High Commissioner, Greg Quinn; Canadian High Commissioner, Lilian Chattergee and Head of Delegation of the European Union to Guyana, Jernej Videtic, noted in a joint statement, that “it is important that all sides respect the ruling,” adding that “we also encourage all to come to an agreement on the way forward.”

The CCJ on Tuesday ruled that the no-confidence motion against the government, which was passed in the National Assembly last December, was valid and the court also ruled that the appointment of the chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Justice James Patterson, was flawed.

The two landmark rulings have consequences for the governance going forward and the parties are to meet before June 24, 2019 to hammer out a consensus before the court makes any consequential orders on the latter dated. The judgments were delivered by President of the CCJ, Justice Adrian Saunders, at the Trinidad and Tobago-based court.
The motion, which was cleared by the National Assembly and the High Court, was invalidated by the Court of Appeal in March this year.

The landmark ruling on Tuesday was made approximately one month after oral arguments were heard in the consolidated appeals challenging the Court of Appeal’s decision to invalidate the motion. The arguments were presented to a panel of five judges led by Justice Adrian Saunders.

President David Granger noted in a subsequent address to the nation that the government respects the ruling of the court.

According to the President, the Constitution entitles all citizens over the age of 18 the right to vote. “It is a democratic imperative that house-to-house registration be completed swiftly so we can have an election at the earliest opportunity. The Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission, Justice Patterson, has previously informed me that the commission will be ready to hold elections in November 2019. This will be after the completion of house-to-house registration. I now await a recommendation for a specific date from GECOM and I will then issue a proclamation.”

He noted that the country will be heading to the polls and there is going to be a crucial choice for our citizens.