Making a mockery of Guyana’s Constitution

Dear Editor,
The coalition Government’s vexatious and blatant disregard and violation of the Supreme Law of this Land, our Constitution, is incomparable in the current history of not only Guyana but in democratic countries throughout our civilised world. Guyanese had thought that the PNC was a full-fledged dictatorship, but the APNU/AFC is now adding a new and more destructive chapter in that era of our dark history. The PNC demitted office in 1992 but from then to 2015 it was in hibernation, cunningly awaiting the apocalypse by facilitating the birth of the Alliance for Change!
Fortunately, the Karmic Laws saved this nation from annihilation by twisting the Moses ‘no-confidence’ motion in 2015 to bring down the APNU/AFC coalition Government in 2018. Moreover, it is also a boon to this nation, for it has now given the younger generation an opportunity to witness first-hand; the devious and destructive nature of the PNC. It is now crystal clear that there is no APNU or AFC, it is pure unadulterated PNC. The WPA has been consumed a long time ago and for the AFC, it has been a gradual degradation process since May 2015, but which gained acceleration soon after the November Local Government Elections. This speedy descent was mainly due to the few unconscionable leaders of the AFC clinging on the feet of the APNU for self-preservation, luckily one thought differently. The AFC died but could only be resurrected as the PNC!
This hybrid PNC is far worse than the old PNC Order since it epitomises lie, deceit, dishonesty, hypocrisy and illegality. Just before the no-confidence motion was debated, the coalition was adamant that a majority of 33 votes was needed to kill that motion, and just after the motion was successful they accepted defeat but soon afterwards rejected their own acceptance and attempted to ‘direct’ the Speaker to rescind his decision. Dr Barton Scotland was surprised by the behavior of the coalition since he said, ‘On the 21st December 2018, the Leaders of both sides of the House spoke of respect for one another and of the opportunity which the result of the vote offers both sides. It is my hope that talks will commence soon’. He went further to state in Parliament that, ‘…the requirement that the Speaker must at all times act in full obedience to the Constitution which is the Supreme Law of Guyana. It is the constitutionality of action which must at all times guide and direct the Speaker. The Speaker’s very wide authority to reverse his ruling is not, however, one which he holds himself able to exercise without strong and compelling grounds…the Speaker on this occasion and without more, declines the invitation to act in reversal’.
This is in direct contrast to what is now being peddled to Guyanese using our scarce taxpayers’ dollars. It is conclusive that the Constitution has spoken in Articles 106 (6) and (7) and even though he made mention of the involvement of the High Court it was not with regards to the interpretation of the Constitution as it relates to the no-confidence motion but it was on the legality of “the conduct of the former Member of Parliament Mr Charrandas Persaud and the effect of that conduct on the outcome of the vote on the 21st of December, 2018”. As far as he was concerned, the vote is successfully carried in favor of the Motion and he will not reverse his decision.
However, not only the Speaker but the coalition Government and the Courts ‘must at all times act in full obedience to the Constitution which is the Supreme Law of Guyana’. To do otherwise is to now declare that the Government is above this Law. Article 163 (1) stated that the High Court has the exclusive jurisdiction to determine any question regarding any ‘person to be elected as a member of the National Assembly’. However, that person, Mr Charrandas Persaud, has already been elected since over three years ago and is now no longer a member of the National Assembly. The same Constitution 165 (2) also states ‘the presence and participation of any person not entitled to be present or to participate in the proceedings of the National Assembly shall not invalidate those proceedings’. Therefore, Charrandas’s membership and his votes cannot now be recalled, and the law applied! Moreover, Article 160 (2) does not apply since Charrandas’s name did not appear on the PPP/C‘s List of Candidates. The multitude of legal minds in the coalition are keenly aware of this yet they want to obscenely and illegally hold on the power.
An important provision of our Constitution is Article 159 (2), which allows a Commonwealth citizen who is not a citizen of Guyana to vote at our General Elections once he/she has been ‘domiciled and resident’ in Guyana for a period of more than one year before the ‘qualifying date’. Charrandas was granted re-migrant status since 1998 so it is difficult to fathom the logic of the coalition’s argument since his dual citizenship is that of Canada, a Commonwealth country. It must be submitted that if such a person can vote as a citizen then such a person can also become a member of the National Assembly since he is not pledging ‘allegiance, obedience or adherence to a foreign power or state’. It will be more difficult to apply Article 155 (1) to a US citizen.
The continuous squandering of State resources to make legal excursions and attempting to convince Guyanese that they have the Constitutional right to continue in Government after the success of the no-confidence motion must be condemned and will not result in a continuance of our hard-earned democratic process. The provisions of Article106 (7) does not give legitimacy for the Government to remain in power and carry out the normal functions of a Government but to allow the basic ‘caretaker role’ of the resigned Government to have legal effect. It is not business as usual and our Constitution must not be relegated to mockery by this illegal Government.

Yours sincerely,
Haseef Yusuf
RDC Councillor
Region 6