For over 15 months now, Guyana has been threading very dangerously close to not only a constitutional crisis, but, in some instances, disregard for spirit and intent of the Constitution of Guyana. In just a matter of days – 13 to be specific – the next session of Parliament has to commence as constitutionally prescribed in Article 69.
Article 69 states: (1) Each session of Parliament shall be held at such place within Guyana and shall begin at such time (not being later than six months from the end of the preceding session if Parliament has been prorogued or four months from the end of that session if Parliament has been dissolved) as the president shall appoint by proclamation. The 11th Parliament was dissolved on December 30, 2019, which means that the new Parliamentary session must begin no later than April 30, 2020.
To achieve this constitutional deadline, the Guyana Elections Commission, and more so its Chair, retired Justice Claudette Singh, have to end the current impasse to ensure that another constitutional provision is not disregard. Therefore, support must be given to the call of the Bar Council of The Bar Association of Guyana for the current imbroglio over the past six weeks to be put aside and a declaration made that permits the Constitution to be honoured and the people of Guyana to be provided with a freely and fairly elected Government.
To quote the Bar Council: “Effect can only be given to the provisions of the Constitution for Parliament to be summoned by the constitutionally mandated timeline if GECOM and its Secretariat act immediately in a manner evincing transparency, impartiality and fairness. Time is of the essence. The Constitution of Guyana is the supreme law of Guyana, to which all persons and bodies are subject. Timelines laid down by the Constitution are not merely matters of principle which one can simply choose to abide by or ignore. The failure to abide by the Constitution has far-reaching consequences, both nationally and internationally, inter alia, for good governance and the rule of law.”
The seven-member Elections Commission did agree to a recount almost two weeks ago, but the process is yet to commence. What is the hold up? From what is being reported, most of the issues that are being raised by the GECOM Secretariat and its apparently defiant staff are minuscule and inconsequential but are yet being entertained by the Commission, causing further delays. As this newspaper had previously said, it is now crystal clear that these elements within GECOM worked in collusion with others who are bent on seeing Guyana being destroyed all because of selfish political interests and a hunger for power. In the end, these actions will hurt the entire country.
Since the passage of the No Confidence Motion in December 2018, there have been several instances of refusal by the current administration to obey the pellucid command of the Constitution. It all started with the non-acceptance by the David Granger-led administration that they were defeated in Parliament. From there on, Guyana, its democracy and its people began rolling downhill in a fight for a democratic government. There was some silver lining on March 2 when Guyanese thought they drew a proverbial line in the sand on the creeping subversion of the rule of law. However, the events that have since unfolded have left citizens in shock and lost for words, as they cannot believe that what is happening before their very eyes is actually real.
To bring an end to this, it is Claudette Singh who has the real power, and it is time she uses it to bring this entire standoff to an end.
As stated by the Bar Council: “Guyana is a parliamentary democracy based on the rule of law. The absence of parliamentary oversight of those who purport to exercise executive powers, whether de facto or de jure, is of grave concern, as it places the rule of law under siege.”
