PRESIDENT David Granger and Leader of the Opposition Bharrat Jagdeo are expected to meet today. The meeting comes days after President Granger informed the Opposition Leader that neither he nor his Cabinet will resign, and neither will he set a date for elections without the advice of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).

In a letter dated July 20, 2019, the Opposition Leader asked the President to issue a proclamation dissolving the 11th Parliament and fix a date for the next General and Regional Elections on or before September 18. The opposition leader had also called for the resignation of the President and Cabinet, on the basis that a no-confidence motion was successfully passed against the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Government. The President responded and clearly outlined his Government’s position to Jagdeo.

On Thursday, during a press conference at the Ministry of the Presidency, President Granger said the Opposition Leader’s interpretation of the Constitution and the rulings and consequential orders of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) differs from that of the Government.

“… but the CCJ was quite clear that it will issue no coercive orders, and it cannot direct the Elections Commission when to hold elections,” President Granger told the press on Thursday.

The head of state said he cannot proclaim a date for elections without the advice of the Elections Commission – such a move, he warned can result in the “Abuja scenario”. Pointing to the West African nation of Nigeria, the President said Guyana should not put itself in a position, in which Nigeria found itself in, when its Elections Commission, informed the Nigerian Government, that it could not conduct elections, on the morning of D-Day because it was not prepared. “I shall wait on the advice of the Commission,” President Granger made it clear.

The President has repeatedly said that he will proclaim a date for elections when the Elections Commission advises him that it is in a state of readiness to facilitate credible, free and fair elections.

In the High Court last week, GECOM’s attorney Stanley Marcus reiterated the Elections Commission’s position that it cannot facilitate credible elections by September 18 as being demanded by the Opposition. He had made similar submissions to the CCJ after it had validated the No-Confidence Motion against the Government – a move that triggered the need for early elections.