In spite of several criticisms from various stakeholders in the society about its continued silence on the current political crisis gripping Guyana, the Caribbean Community (Caricom), up to press time, has not issued a single word regarding its position— more particularly on the APNU/AFC Government’s refusal to abide by the recent rulings of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) and the Constitution of Guyana in general.
The decisions of the CCJ are clear regarding what happens after a no-confidence vote is passed against the Government. The expectation was that all parties involved would have genuinely played their part in ensuring that the country moves into elections, in keeping with the constitutional timelines for same.
Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo, himself— highly regarded as one of the region’s best thinkers— has expressed disappointment that the regional body was yet to issue a statement on the matter, given the fact that the CCJ is a regional organ and also headquartered right here in Guyana. During the consequential orders on July 12, the Government was reduced to that of a caretaker administration and urged to call elections in keeping within the constitutional deadline. With more than one month passing since the June 18 ruling was handed down, a date for elections has not been announced.
It must be mentioned that Caricom had previously played a key role in helping to address previous political problems here. It could be recalled that Caricom was one of the first organisations that spoke out on the political situation in Guyana after the December 15, 1997 elections, which saw massive unrest and political instability in Georgetown. In fact, the then PPP/C Government had committed itself to facilitating every effort by Caricom to have a successful intervention of a high-level Goodwill Mission to mediate and find solutions to the crisis after the then Opposition PNC rejected the elections results. The Mission, comprising Barbadian Sir Henry Forde, Guyanese Sir Shridath Ramphal, and Grenadian Sir Alister McIntyre, succeeded in getting the then Opposition Leader and President to agree to a poll audit, among other things. More recently, Caricom also intervened in the political problems of Haiti and Venezuela when there were threats to democracy and the rule of law.
As stated by one letter writer, disrespect of the chief laws by the coalition administration points to a threat to democracy, which must be addressed at all costs. The regional body’s silence in this case is, therefore, baffling. From the way it is playing out, the coalition Government will do all that it can to ensure that elections are dragged out for as long as possible. It is also clear that GECOM is operating as if it is not bothered at all about the CCJ rulings and the impact such rulings have on the electoral body, more particularly, its readiness to run-off elections within the constitutional timeline. As it is today (Saturday), GECOM is pushing ahead with its House-to-House Registration exercise in clear defiance of the CCJ orders and the Constitution.
GECOM’s lawyer Stanley Marcus had told the CCJ on June 24 that GECOM must have House-to-House Registration and that the earliest a voters’ list will be ready is by December 25, 2019 – pushing elections, which ought to have been held since before March 21, 2019 – to next year. This was challenged after the Opposition insisted that a claims and objections period could fix the list in a shorter period of time to ensure that all voters are on the official voters’ list.
GECOM must be aware that this house-to-house exercise will result in the constitutional deadline for elections not being met. It must also be aware that once the deadline is not, met the country will be plunged into a constitutional crisis, especially since the Opposition is maintaining that it will not be returning to Parliament to give the Government more time.
The letter writer reminds us that the CCJ is a creation of Caricom, despite which countries may use it as their final Court. As such, Caricom must ensure that the CCJ is not being made ineffective. It must seek to ensure that the Court’s decisions are honoured and respected by all stakeholders. It is still not too late for Caricom to make its position known that it stands on the side of democracy and respect for the rule of law and start putting pressure on the Government here to abide by the CCJ orders and the Constitution of Guyana. If it does not take a firm stance, the regional body will be found lacking and will lose credibility to speak on matters of good governance and democracy and international best practices on constitutional matters.
