Govt says it will “accept and act” on ruling

CCJ ruling on no-confidence cases

Ahead of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) highly anticipated ruling on the passage of the No-Confidence Motion, the coalition Government said it is prepared to accept whatever ruling the court hands down in the new week.
The Trinidad-based regional court is expected to deliver its decision on Tuesday and according to Government’s spokesperson, Joseph Harmon, his Administration is prepared to accept whatever the CCJ’s decision is.
“We will accept the finding of the court and we will act on that finding. So as a Government, I would say this is the legal process coming to a conclusion and, therefore, we feel bound by whatever the CCJ comes up with and we will act accordingly,” Harmon noted.
Next week, the CCJ will either uphold the March ruling of the Guyana Court of Appeal which found that the motion needed 34 votes for an absolute majority in order to be successfully passed in the National Assembly.
However, the PPP Opposition is asking the regional court to restore a January High Court ruling, which had upheld the December 21, 2018, passage of the motion, tabled by its leader, Bharrat Jagdeo, back in November.
While much is hinging on the court’s ruling to bring a final determination to this matter, Harmon, the Director General at the Ministry of the Presidency, posited that the coalition Government has no fear or trepidation about the impending decision.
“We have no trepidation or fear about the decision itself. We are prepared for whatever the court will decide… We do not hold any fear about what the court is going to decide, we have no fear about that. We will honour and obey the decision of the court,” he contended.
Like the Government, the PPP has also committed to respecting the decision of the regional court while expressing confidence in its case. In fact, Jagdeo told reporters at his weekly press conference on Thursday that they are operating on a “twin-track” in anticipation of the CCJ ruling either way.
“We believe we have a good case to win but you can’t predict the results before they actually come out. So we’re operating on a twin-track – one is that if the No-Confidence Motion ruling goes in our favour and if doesn’t go in our favour, a longer-term strategy [is in place],” Jagdeo stated.
The latter, he noted, however, would not be that much “long” since in any case, General and Regional Elections are scheduled for 2020 – less than a year away.
“So if the No-Confidence Motion goes in our favour, it’s a 100 metres dash, if not it’s 400 metres,” the Opposition Leader posited.
The three No-Confidence Motion cases before the CCJ deal with Christopher Ram v the Attorney General of Guyana, the Leader of the Opposition and Joseph Harmon; Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo v the Attorney General of Guyana, Dr Barton Scotland and Joseph Harmon; and Charrandas Persaud v Compton Herbert Reid, Dr Barton Scotland, Bharrat Jagdeo and Joseph Harmon; the last of which deals with Persaud’s eligibility to vote in the House.
Last month, the CCJ panel of judges heard oral submissions from the various parties in the consolidated appeals in two marathon sessions on May 9 and 10.
Meanwhile, the Trinidad-based court is also expected to hand down a ruling on the unilateral appointment of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Chairman, retired Justice James Patterson.
On May 8, the CCJ heard arguments in the case brought by the People’s Progressive Party’s (PPP) Executive Secretary, Zulfikar Mustapha, challenging the current Chairman’s appointment.
Patterson was appointed to the position of Chairman of GECOM in 2017 after President Granger had rejected three lists comprising 18 names submitted by Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo for the post of GECOM Chairman.
Last year, Chief Justice (acting) Roxanne George had ruled that the Constitution of Guyana, in fact, allows for the President to unilaterally appoint someone to fill the position of Chairman of GECOM.