Opposition Leader proposes daily meetings with President if needed

Appointment of new GECOM chair

…ready to meet at any time
…Private Sector body wants to assist in moving process forward

In wake of the landmark decisions by the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), which declared that the Government was toppled by a No-Confidence Motion, Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo has indicated his availability to meet the President any time to appoint a new Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Chairman and discuss the way forward.
This was indicated in a letter from People’s Progressive Party Executive Member and former Chief Whip, Gail Teixeira, to Director General of the Ministry of the Presidency, Joseph Harmon.
Harmon had previously written to Jagdeo, on President David Granger’s behalf, inviting him to meet the President whenever convenient after consequential orders were issued on Monday by the CCJ. But the CCJ did not issue those orders when it met and the invitation was left open.
In the letter, Teixeira writes, “l wish on behalf of the Leader of the Opposition, Hon Bharrat Jagdeo, MP, to inform you that Mr Jagdeo is prepared to meet with the President at any time, and, on a daily basis if needs be, to address the appointment of a new Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission consistent with the ruling of the Caribbean Court of Justice on June 18, 2019.”
Teixeira went on to request that Harmon bring the parliamentary Opposition’s letter to the President’s attention as soon as possible and to suggest that Harmon contact her in order to coordinate the meetings between the President and the Opposition Leader.
The unilaterally-appointed GECOM Chairman, Retired Justice James Patterson has since stepped down from his position, after the CCJ found that his appointment was unconstitutional and derived from a flawed process. With the Opposition pushing for elections this year in keeping with the Guyana Constitution, it means the position must urgently be filled.
At the CCJ’s post-judgment hearing on Monday, requests were made by lawyers for the President to be given seven days to appoint a new chairman. Opposition Leader Jagdeo has already said he could provide a list of candidates to the President to choose a Chairman from.
The Court had subsequently decided to give the two sides until July 1 to make written submissions on the consequential orders they would like to be handed down. It also decided that consequential orders will be issued on or before July 12, before which the CCJ urged President Granger to meet with Jagdeo, with their lawyers if necessary.

Mediation
Meanwhile, the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA) has pledged its assistance in mediating the process between the Government and the Opposition, in order to ensure matters are quickly resolved.
This commitment was given by incoming President of the GMSA, Clinton Williams, at a luncheon on Tuesday. There, he reminded the audience that his organisation has previously stepped in, in times of political impasses and was willing to do so again, to get the ball rolling.
“It would be foolhardy and naïve if I do not take this opportunity, on behalf of the GMSA, to recommit GMSA’s support to do anything and everything possible to find an appropriate resolution to the political impasse facing our nation,” Williams said.
“The organisation’s previous interventions into matters of this type have been well- received by all the political players,” he continued. “We stand ready on this occasion to do our best to ensure we can get over this as soon as possible.”
Last week, the CCJ ruled that the NCM tabled in Guyana’s National Assembly in December 2018, had been validly passed and, therefore, general elections must be held within a stipulated time frame. It also ruled that Patterson was illegally appointed.
Since that time and despite the expectations of the Court, the two sides have failed to meet and come to an agreement on the way forward. The CCJ has made it clear that it would prefer the two parties to submit proposals, rather than it impose consequential orders of its own.