The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) has made it pellucid that the spirit and letter of the Constitution ought to be given the utmost respect, especially as it relates to Article 106 which states that elections must be held within three months following the passage of a No-Confidence Motion. As such, the charade the country has been witnessing over the appointment of a new Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Chair, the charade over GECOM’s advisory mandate on the election date, and the charade leading to crocodile tears about the electoral list, must all end now says former House Speaker, Ralph Ramkarran.
The Attorney-at-Law made these and other declarations on his blog called the Conversation Tree. (https://conversationtree.gy/)
In his most recent installment, Ramkarran noted that the CCJ tried its best to make clear that integrity must prevail and all, including GECOM, are bound by the Constitution and Article 106. Further to this, the seasoned lawyer noted that the President, who he believes has a penchant for interpreting the Constitution in his own peculiar way when it suits him, is “at it again;”even before the ink is dry on the CCJ’s decision.
In this regard, he reminded that President David Granger, in his most recent address to the nation, said that “GECOM has to advise the President on its readiness to conduct elections.”
Ramkarran noted that there is nothing in the Constitution that says GECOM has to advise the President on its readiness to conduct elections.
Furthermore, Ramkarran said it was noteworthy that the CCJ did not embark on the well-worn path of urging accommodation between the two immovable objects in the political firmament. He categorically stated that this has never happened, will not happen now, and time is short.
The former House Speaker also said that the Opposition’s ill-advised public flaunting of a list of 11, triggering the Government’s gleeful revelation of its own list of eight, followed by futile discussions, is the kind of useless and fruitless one-upmanship that has plagued Guyana throughout its entire modern political history.
Considering all that has played out, the lawyer holds the firm view that the entire strategy of the Government has been to delay the holding of elections. He also noted that Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo’s move to negotiate in public plays to the delay tune too. But since the CCJ has been pellucid about the respect that is required from both ends, Ramkarran reiterated that the charade and delay tactics must all come to an end.
