–potential meetings could result in appointment of constitutional bodies before month-end, says Vice-President

WITH the stage set for the appointment of a new Opposition Leader, Vice-President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo has said that whoever is elected would be engaged by President Dr Irfaan Ali.

President Ali had previously outlined a condition which must be satisfied before he engages with the Leader of the Opposition, who, at that time, was Joseph Harmon. It entailed the Opposition Leader acknowledging the legitimacy of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic Government.
Even so, the Head of State had assured stakeholders that where he was mandated to act in accordance with his constitutional role, he was prepared to discharge his responsibilities.

One such role entails engaging the Opposition Leader on potential candidates to be appointed to various constitutional bodies.

The reconstitution of some of those bodies will, however, have to await the appointment of a new Opposition Leader, since Harmon resigned recently from the post following mounting pressure from his party, the People’s National Congress Reform (PNC/R), which, from all indications, wants its new leader, Aubrey Norton, to hold the position.

The post of Opposition Leader is a constitutional one that is filled through election by elected members of the National Assembly, who are not a part of the government.

Should this position be filled soon, Vice-President Jagdeo anticipates that several commissions will be reconstituted by the end of February.
“We anticipate before the end of February, the President will meet with the Leader of the Opposition if by then there is a new Leader of the Opposition… we are hoping that matter would be resolved shortly,” Dr Jagdeo said.

He added that the government was vindicated in its decision to not engage Harmon, since they believed that meeting with him might be an “exercise in futility,” given that he might not have had a mandate from his party.

“He never had a mandate from his party, although they had a very disappointing show and Norton was elected [as leader],” the Vice-President said.
Norton, although being elected through a process which involved only one-third of the PNC/R’s electorate, has been catapulted to the position of Chairman of the A Partnership for National Unity (ANPU) and is poised to become the new Leader of the Opposition.

“Now they are in the process of electing a new Leader of the Opposition. Once that person is in place, we anticipate that by the end of February, we should have all of the commissions in place. So, the President will consult with the Leader of the Opposition on the Judicial Service Commission, the Public Service Commission and the Teaching Service Commission [among others],” Vice-President Jagdeo said.

In some cases, names of persons to constitute some of the commissions have already been identified by parliamentary committees but are awaiting the House’s approval before being sent to the President.

For instance, four names have been approved for the Police Service Commission and the order paper is in the National Assembly awaiting the approval of its members.

Further, while five nominees for the Public Procurement Commission (PPC) have been identified, official approval still needs to be granted by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

As regards the Integrity Commission, while it is not in place, Vice-President Jagdeo said the law still exists and there is a secretariat which oversees the operations of the commission.

Essentially, public officials are still required to submit their statements to the secretariat although the commission has not been reconstituted.
“Even in the absence of the commission, what APNU did, they not only did not have the commission in place, they refused to make the submissions… that is why we disagreed with the [former] chair, who said they would not look at three back years… there was an obligation to comply with the law, it did not change, the secretariat was in place.

“MPs [Members of Parliament] still have to submit… APNU did not submit for three years, 2016, 2017 and 2018,” Vice-President Jagdeo related.