– says meaning of care taker gov’t must now be ‘fleshed out’

ATTORNEY General Basil Williams said the Government will respect the decision of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), as he reacted to the consequential orders handed down by that Court with respect to the validation of the No-Confidence Motion against the Government, and the appointment of a Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).

On Friday, the CCJ ruled that it would be wrong for it to set a deadline or date for the holding of elections in Guyana when the Constitution invests that power in the President, the National Assembly and implicitly in GECOM. In the matter concerning the appointment of a Chairman for the Elections Commission, President of the CCJ, Justice Adrian Saunders, said there was no need to issue any orders due to the fact that Justice (Ret’d) James Patterson vacated the post shortly after the Court ruled that the process of his appointment was flawed.

Moments after exiting the courtroom at the Trinidad-based CCJ, Williams said the Government, as indicated by President David Granger, will abide by the ruling of the Court.
Noting that he is satisfied with the Consequential Orders made by the CCJ in relation to the holding of the Elections, Williams said that the Constitution of Guyana has been upheld. Through his lead Attorney Senior Counsel Eamon Courtenay, the Attorney General had submitted that the CCJ has no jurisdiction to set the date for General and Regional Elections or to dissolve Parliament. Such powers are vested only in the President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, Williams had submitted, noting that a date for elections should be named based on the advice of GECOM.

“What the court has done in this regard, that is laudable, is that the court has recognsied that it should not impose or super-impose itself within a political context,” he said.
Now that the Court has delivered its Consequential Orders, the Attorney General said GECOM must now advise the President. “It means therefore that GECOM must inform the President as to their ability to hold an election, when and how soon,” he told Guyana Chronicle. But before that advice can be given, a Chairman of the Elections Commission must first be appointed.

The CCJ, in delivering its orders, also noted that due to the fact that a No-Confidence Motion was successfully passed against the Government last December, it must operate as “care taker government” or “an interim government” until a President is sworn in following an election.

“We will have to obey the ruling of the court,” Williams said in response to the pronouncements while noting that relevant players will now have to “flesh out” what it means to be a “caretaker government.”

The Belizean Senior Counsel, who was a part of the AG’s team of lawyers said that the decision of the consequential orders was a triumph for the constitution of Guyana. He said that the “ship of state”, that is Guyana, has one captain, that is he said, the President of Guyana.

In Guyana, several attorneys involved in the consolidated cases witnessed the delivery of the Consequential Orders via web cam at the Court of Appeal. Outside of the appellate court, Senior Counsel Neil Boston said setting a date for election, and extending the date for the holding of election, are political issues and not for the Court to intervene. “It is a political issues but one expects that the Constitutional players who were supposed to move the Constitutional provision into line, will act in accordance with the law,” Boston opined.
He rejected the notion that by indicating that Article 106 (6) and (7) must be upheld, the CCJ indirectly stated that elections must be held within three months. But the Senior Counsel said the Court has clearly indicated that the issue of fixing a date for election is for the President and implicitly in GECOM.

Meanwhile, Attorney Sanjeev Datadin, who represented recalled Member of Parliament Charrandass Persaud, expressed disappointment in the consequential orders handed down by the CCJ.

“It was certainly not the ruling that we were looking for. The court has left a lot out,” Datadin told reporters outside of the appellate Court. According to him, the Court has the power to give clear directions on the holding of elections. “Certainly, it is a position where you won the battle but you lost the war because the Court has not done what it should have done in terms of laying clear guidelines,” the Attorney opined.

Over at the Leader of the Opposition’s Office, Bharrat Jagdeo – the Opposition Leader – made it clear that the Parliamentary Opposition, the People’s Progressive Party, will not return to the National Assembly to extend the time for the holding of elections as required by the Constitution.

The Constitution states that the elections must be held within three months of a successful No-Confidence Motion or at later time as agreed by a two-thirds majority of the National Assembly. GECOM has long indicated that it is no position to facilitate elections before December, 2019, and now that it has no chairman, the process of preparing for elections is now at a standstill. But Jagdeo has made it clear that the Opposition will not return to the Assembly.

However, he committed to meeting with President Granger to shortlist and fast track the process of appointing a Chairman of the Elections Commission.