…PPP 33; APNU/AFC 31; ANUG/LJP/TNM 1
The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has initiated the process of appointing a new batch of parliamentarians to serve in the legislative branch of Government.
The Office of the Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield has dispatched letters to political parties, informing them of their requirement to identify their candidates to take up seats in the 65-seat National Assembly.
The CEO’s final elections report shows that the Peoples Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) secured 33 parliamentary seats while the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) coalition won 31.
The joinder parties –A New and United Guyana (ANUG), Liberty and Justice Party (LJP), and The New Movement (TNM) – gained one seat.
Guyana Times understands that political parties are required to extract names of individuals from their respective lists and submit that information to the CEO, who will then prepare certificates to be dispatched to the potential Members of 12th Parliament of Guyana.
Unlike the situation which obtained in the 11th Parliament, this time around, the House will have a third force.
The three joinder parties are expected to meet soon to further discuss what arrangement they will put in place for the rotation of their various representatives.
ANUG’s Presidential Candidate, Ralph Ramkarran had previously explained that “if each of us has 2000 left-over votes, we’ll have one seat and the person will serve one-third of the time. Each party will have a member for one-third of the period in Parliament. So, the first person will resign after one-third of the time, the second person nominated by the second party will serve for one-third and so on.”
Speaking with this newspaper on Monday evening, ANUG’s representative Jonathan Yearwood said he anticipates no change in the rotation formula that was proposed prior to the March 2 elections.
Moreover, he expects an agreement among the three parties on their parliamentary representatives before the weekend.
“We will be having a meeting very soon to decide that, as soon as all three parties are available,” he explained.
Asked about who are likely to be the persons representing ANUG in Parliament, Yearwood noted that everyone on the party’s list stands a fair chance.
Meanwhile, TNM representative Josh Kanhai expressed similar sentiments when contacted by this publication. He explained that the parties will be meeting soon to finalise the details and he too sees no deviation from the plan that was proposed prior to the election declaration.
He said his party is expected to have an internal election process to determine which of its members will represent TNM in Parliament.
Both Yearwood and Kanhai told Guyana Times that their parties – though new on the political scene – are committed to being a strong third force and will hold the Government of the day accountable.
Dual citizenship
The issue of dual citizenship is expected to be of key interest in the selection of the new batch of parliamentarians.
Article 155 (1) (a) of the Constitution of Guyana states that “No person shall be qualified for election as a member of the National Assembly who is, by virtue of his own act, under any acknowledgement of allegiance, obedience or adherence to a foreign power or State.”
This simply means that persons who hold dual citizenship cannot legally occupy seats in the National Assembly.
Though this unlawful practice has been occurring for years, a court ruling following the passage of the No-Confidence Motion in 2018 reaffirmed that this custom is illegal – a move which prompted several dual citizenship parliamentarians from both the Government and Opposition benches to either resign or relinquish their foreign citizenship.
GECOM’s Public Relations Officer Yolanda Ward had previously explained that the electoral body has no obligation to verify whether persons who are nominated to be MPs are dual citizens.
She had explained that the onus is on the politicians themselves to ensure that they are honest on the statutory declaration form which they sign to indicate that they are Guyanese and do not have dual citizenship.
Clerk of the National Assembly Sherlock Isaacs had told the media earlier this year that Parliament is also not mandated to check on the eligibility of parliamentarians.
Notwithstanding, three presidential candidates representing three of the new political parties were, in the lead up to the March 2 elections, initially barred by GECOM from contesting after it was discovered that they are dual citizens.
However, they were subsequently allowed to contest the elections after they submitted to the Elections Commission documentation showing that they have officially relinquished their foreign citizenship.
Meanwhile, the PPP/C had previously committed to adhering to the Constitution of Guyana regarding dual citizenship.
During the last Parliament, the PPP/C had three MPs who held dual citizenship – Gail Teixeira, who is a Canadian citizen; and Adrian Anamayah and Odinga Lumumba, who are both US citizens. While Teixeira and Lumumba have renounced their foreign citizenship – thus allowing them to continue serving in the National Assembly, Anamayah had opted to keep his foreign citizenship due to family commitments.
On the other hand, APNU’s dual citizenship members included Joseph Harmon, who held American citizenships while Carl Greenidge and Rupert Roopnaraine were also citizens of the United Kingdom. AFC’s Dominic Gaskin, who was born in the UK, was also regarded as a dual citizen.
It is unclear who on the APNU/AFC side has given up their dual citizenships. (G11)
