Court maintains necessity of upholding Constitution

CCJ post-judgement hearing

…PPP sticks to constitutional stipulations
…says Govt should have a caretaker status
…as GECOM proposes another delaying tactic with Christmas Day voters’ list

Urging that President David Granger meet with Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo to come up with a consensus on the way forward, the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) has pushed back the date to issue consequential orders on the No-Confidence Motion until July 12, 2019.

CCJ President,
Justice Adrian Saunders

This came out of Monday’s post-judgement hearing, where the CCJ had expected the two sides to have come up with an agreement. Instead, Trinidad Senior Counsel and lawyer for the Opposition Leader, Douglas Mendes, informed the Court that the two sides were not able to reach an agreement.
Nevertheless, Mendes put forward his proposals for what the consequential orders should be. One such proposal put forward by Mendes is that the Court fix an election date within a 90-day time frame, a proposal that was initially put forward by his client last week during a press conference.

Lawyer for the Opposition, T&T Senior Counsel Douglas Mendes

“The elections ought to have been held on March 21. If the intention of the Court is to bring us back to the position we ought to have been but for the decision of the Court of Appeal, an election ought to have been held on 21 March with the list in existence,” Mendes said.
“It is a matter now for the Court to fix a date by which the elections are to be held. But the position of the Opposition Leader is that an election ought to be held within three months of today’s date.”
When given a chance to speak, Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) lawyer Stanley Marcus revealed that elections were actually not possible until after Christmas. It was an announcement that caused CCJ President, Justice Adrian Saunders to express disappointment, considering the fact that elections were constitutionally due since March 21 of this year.

Attorney General Basil Williams

“From my consultations, putting everything into place and complying with all the necessary provisions, a list would be ready by the 25th of December. Elections to be held any time after,” Marcus informed the Court, to the visible surprise of the Judges.
“Mr Marcus, this is very disappointing. Because, as Mr Mendes said, the Constitution suggests that these elections should have been held sometime in March!” Justice Saunders replied. “You are suggesting an outside date that carries us down nine more months.”

Caretaker Government
Meanwhile, Article 106 (6) and 106 (7) of the Constitution caused some amount of contention. Article 106 (6) of the Constitution states: “The Cabinet including the President shall resign if the Government is defeated by the vote of a majority of all the elected members of the National Assembly on a vote of confidence.”
Article 106 (7) states that “Notwithstanding its defeat, the Government shall remain in office and shall hold an election within three months, or such longer period as the National Assembly shall by resolution supported by not less than two-thirds of the votes of all the elected members of the National Assembly determine, and shall resign after the President takes the oath of office following the election.”
But while Marcus and Attorney General Basil Williams both argued that this meant the President and his Cabinet had to remain in power until after a new President was sworn in, the CCJ had a different opinion.
Justice Jacob Wit noted that it was international practice that following a successful no-confidence motion, a caretaker government was usually left in place with a limited time frame in which to carry out snap elections.He made it clear that contrary to the Government’s arguments, a provision for a caretaker government does not have to be explicit in the Constitution as this is a standard and recognised international practice.
This is a point that has repeatedly been emphasised by the Opposition Leader, who has noted that contracts and decisions taken that were not in line with what a caretaker government ought to be doing would not be recognised by the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C).
But Marcus’s continued arguments that Government has to continue in office with its full powers and that the three months’ deadline were an “imposition” eventually caused Justice Saunders to brandish the Constitution and remind the lawyer of the CCJ’s remit.
“We’re not imposing anything. We’re not involved in politics. Our remit is to uphold this document (the Constitution of Guyana). And if it has a clear provision, then what you want us to do? To ignore it? To reject it? To rewrite it?” Justice Saunders questioned.
Meanwhile, in his presentation, AG Williams blamed GECOM’s failure to prepare for elections after November on the Commissioners and walkouts. This is despite the fact that Commissioners on the PPP/C side have long complained about GECOM stalling preparations and the Government Commissioners’ push for House-to-House Registration, which would delay elections.
Williams, like Marcus, called for the two sides to come together in the National Assembly to extend the Government’s time in office. Jagdeo, who called a press conference soon after the proceedings, has since shot down that idea.
Eventually, the Court decided to give the two sides until July 1 to make written submissions on the consequential orders not exceeding 20 pages. It also decided that consequential orders would be issued on or before July 12, before which the CCJ urged President Granger to meet with Jagdeo, with their lawyers if necessary.
In his reaction following the post-judgement hearing, Attorney General Williams maintained that House-to-House registration must be continued and the President and Cabinet must remain in power.
“We believe under 106(7) it takes precedence over 106(6). Six does not have any timelines and so 7 governs 106(6) and the President, the Government, the Cabinet should remain. And the President does not leave until an election is held and a new president is sworn in,” he said.