…Nandlall says as he demands that high court set timelines for holding of elections

ATTORNEY-at-Law Anil Nandlall told the High Court that it should not confine itself, as was done in the past, and as the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) has done by ‘failing’ to set timelines for the hosting of General and Regional Elections following the historic No-Confidence Motion against the Government.

As he wrapped up his arguments on Monday in the case brought against the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) by Chartered Accountant Christopher Ram for conducting House-to-House Registration, Nandlall told Chief Justice Roxane George-Wiltshire that the CCJ must have regretted not setting a timeframe for the holding of elections. The High Court, he posited, should not make a similar mistake.

“The CCJ now must be regretting it, to see how its judgement is being ripped apart and misinterpreted,” Nandlall said, while questioning if the High Court is prepared to do the same thing as “the violation of the constitution continues.”

The CCJ, while validating the No-Confidence Motion against the government, said it is not within its remit to issue coercive orders and detailed directives, instructing the constitutional players how to act. While the Article 106 (6) and 106 (7) of the Constitution state that elections should be held within three months or during an extended period as agreed by two-thirds of the National Assembly in the form of the resolution, the timeframe has not been extended. The Government has invited the Opposition to return to the House to extend the time, in accordance with the Constitution, on the basis that GECOM is still preparing for election, but it has objected.

Outside the courtroom, Nandlall accused the government of failing to comply with the Constitution and the orders of the CCJ. This time around, he said the High Court must not confine itself.

“How long are we going to engage in all kinds of diplomatic and intellectual exchanges when we are not belling the cat? We are not speaking about the elephant in the room, and I beseeched this court not to act with restraint again. We are here because the Court acted with restraint since January, this every court. We went to the CCJ, and the CCJ acted with some degree of restraint and we see what is taking place in the country,” he told reporters.
According to him, the Judiciary is not firm enough in its rulings. He told reporters that the Opposition is not asking the Court to fix a date for elections, because that is a matter for the president, but rather the request is for the Court to fix a timeframe for which the President must fix a date for elections.

In reiterating the pronouncements of the CCJ, the government and its supporters have said that the constitutional and political players must act, and in doing so, uphold the Constitution but Nandlall reiterated that the Opposition will not return to the National Assembly. “They are hoping for a new lease of life, that Mr. Jagdeo and the PPP will come to the Parliament but Mr. Jagdeo and the PPP spoke already, they are not coming to the parliament,” he posited.

While Nandlall and his client did not dwell on the extension that could be granted, the Guyana Bar Association, an added respondent in the matter, conceded that while the Constitution stipulates a three-month period, it made provision for an extension. On Monday, it was represented by Attorney Sanjeev Datadin.

He also contended too that House-to-House Registration was embarked upon to deliberately frustrate the timeframes of the Constitution, though GECOM and the government have refuted this contention.

Meanwhile, inside the Court, Nandlall, who on behalf of his client Christopher Ram, withdrew its statement that Senior Counsel Stanley Marcus had no authority to represent GECOM when the Commission was not properly constituted. It was on the instructions of the Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield that Marcus took up the challenge to represent GECOM but Nandlall had argued that it was not within his remit. While fielding a series of questions from the Chief Justice, Nandlall conceded that because GECOM is a party in the matter, it ought to be present and represented.