…Dr. David Hinds says President Granger’s sincerity cannot be questioned
…praises him for level-headedness in navigating political situation

POLITICAL Scientist, Dr. David Hinds, while rubbishing allegations that President David Granger has been temporising or ‘dilly-dallying’ on critical matters following the December 18 no-confidence motion, said the President has gone above and beyond to adhere to the Constitution of Guyana and rulings of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ).

Stabroek News, in its Friday, July 26, 2019 Editorial titled ‘Temporising,’ accused the President of “inflicting unnecessary damage on the nation at the constitutional level, the institutional level and the level of ordinary Guyanese,” through, what it considered to be the employment of delay tactics in the appointment of a Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) and the conduct of General and Regional Elections.

But Dr. Hinds, in an interview with the Guyana Chronicle, said the editorial is a misrepresentation of President Granger’s character and his actions. “One thing you can’t accuse David Granger of is insincerity,” Dr. Hinds told this newspaper.

The Editorial was published hours before President Granger selected renowned legal luminary Justice (Ret’d) Claudette Singh, SC, CCH for the position of Chairman of the Elections Commission from a list of six nominees submitted by the Leader of the Opposition, Bharrat Jagdeo – a move which represented a breakthrough in negotiations between the leaders following the invalidation of the appointment of Justice (Ret’d) James Patterson as Chairman on June 18. Ahead of this breakthrough, the government, in February, approved $3.4B for elections preparations after the commission had indicated that it lacked the capacity and financial power to conduct elections within three months. By March 21, the no-confidence motion was invalidated by the Court of Appeal – a ruling that has since been overturned by the CCJ. However, the CCJ’s June 18 decision came almost two months after the Voters’ List expired, giving rise to need for house-to-house registration to generate a new and credible list. The opposition leader and by extension the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) have lobbied GECOM to use the expired list in the interest of early elections though this, according to experts, would result in electoral fraud. President Granger, while making it clear that he will not interfere in the work of the commission, has repeatedly informed the nation that he will proclaim a date for elections when the Elections Commission advises him that it is in a position to facilitate free, fair and credible elections. Until the election is held, the President has made it clear that his government, in accordance with the ruling of the CCJ, accepts that it is now operating in an interim mode.

“I happen to know there are people to the left of Granger on these issues; they are people who would play hard ball 24 hour seven with Mr. Jagdeo and the PPP. Mr. Granger has not been doing that; he has bent over backwards; he has said I accept that we are an interim government. He has agreed to restrict himself when some of us believe that he shouldn’t restrict himself,” Dr. Hinds told the Guyana Chronicle.

Dr. Hinds, an Executive of the Working People’s Alliance (WPA), noted too that since the passage of the no-confidence motion, President Granger has repeatedly said that he will be guided by the Elections Commission. GECOM’s Attorney, Stanley Marcus, has informed the CCJ that the Elections Commission, would be in a position to hold elections after December 25, 2019.

“So I think, therefore, to accused him of dilly-dallying and playing for time, is unfair to him because they may be people within the coalition who would want to do that but not Mr. Granger,” Dr. Hinds reasoned.

According to Dr. Hinds, the President, and the majority of his government are interested in arriving at consensus not only in the appointment of the GECOM Chair, but the holding of elections. In light of the pronouncements of the Elections Commission, the government had signalled its willingness to extend the period for the conduct of elections in accordance with the Constitution but the opposition, has indicated that it will not return to the house to extend the time by a two-third majority.

“A lot of people in government have accepted that we have to come to a compromise, (but) it is Mr. Jagdeo who is pushing back against compromising,” Dr. Hinds posited.
“Mr. Jagdeo wants to obey the court when the court says things that he likes and when the court says something that he doesn’t like, he wants to say no court could let me…Mr. Jagdeo is defying the court, and we have to make this clear, because they are saying it is Granger that is defying the court, NO, it is Mr. Jagdeo who is defying the court,” the WPA executive said.

He said, the CCJ, in handing down its ruling on the no-confidence motion ruled that only the President, the National Assembly, and implicitly GECOM, can set timelines and a date for elections.

The President of the CCJ, Justice Adrian Saunders, in handing down those consequential orders on July 12, said the court lacks the power to set a timeline or day for the holding of elections, explaining that the Constitution places that power in the ‘hands’ of the President, the National Assembly, and indirectly GECOM. In ‘rejecting’ the submission of the opposition leader, the court said it simply cannot issue coercive orders or detailed directives dictating how the President and the National Assembly should act.

“It is not, for example, the role of the court to establish a date on or by which the elections must be held, or to lay down timelines and deadlines that, in principle, are the preserve of political actors guided by constitutional imperatives. The court must assume that these bodies and personages will exercise their responsibilities with integrity and in keeping with the unambiguous provisions of the Constitution, bearing in mind that the no-confidence motion was validly passed as long ago as 21 December 2018,” Justice Saunders explained.
Dr. Hinds said the opposition leader and the PPP’s demand for elections to be held within three months of the June 18 decision of the CCJ is in contradiction with the orders of the court and smack disrespect for the court. He reminded that GECOM is an independent constitutional player, and decisions must be respected.

It is expected that with the appointment of Justice (Ret’d) Singh on Monday as Chair of GECOM, the secretariat would be given clear directives on the way forward, and the President would be further advised on the Elections Commission’s state of readiness for credible elections.