Dear Editor,
GUYANA is a Sovereign State and Republic. The fundamental governance principle in our Constitution is the separation of powers doctrine that regulates the operation of the three branches of government. Each branch, the executive, legislative and judicial, is separate but equal, and cannot intrude on each other’s functions and responsibilities as provided for in the Constitution. The judicial branch, including the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), cannot violate the separation of powers doctrine of the Constitution, as the PPP has petitioned the CCJ to do by asking it to mandate elections in three months.

The PPP has always shown a willingness to give away Guyana’s sovereignty, as it has done on the Venezuela border matter. Should the CCJ enter such consequential order, it will be a flagrant violation of the laws of Guyana, as well as an overeach that would be nugatory. It will also be a severe deterrent to other CARICOM States joining the Court. Indeed, a majority of CARICOM countries have not joined the CCJ in the appellate jurisdiction.

Guyana must not submit its sovereignty, governance and electoral processes to the temptations and predispositions of Caribbean judges who appear bereft of the import and uniqueness of our constitutional provisions and arrangements. The judgements and pronouncements of the honourable justices of the CCJ seem tinged with disregard for, and protestations of, the powers of the presidency, which appear to be rooted in obsolescent misconceptions of our political system, democracy and form of government.

Might I posit that it is within the purview and judgement of the government and citizenry of Guyana to determine the benefits of the CCJ to our nation, were any unconstitutional overreach attempted by the court.
Regards,
Rickford Burke
President of the Caribbean Guyana Institute for Democracy (CGID)