Stymied by…

…a recalcitrant government
What we’re witnessing in Guyana is a game of “Three-card Monte”, writ large: with the Constitution as the card that Granger’s sleights of hand have seemingly befuddled the Courts. The No-Confidence Motion was passed on Dec 21, 2018. It’s now clear that through his “now you see it and now you don’t” moves, the caretaker President will NOT be proclaiming any election date for this year.
As to when that date will be, it’s just as certain that even when GECOM (read the GECOM Chair Claudette Singh) finally says when they’ll be “ready”, Granger will go beyond that date.
The Opposition has bent over backwards to go along with the subterfuges of Granger – and then some! If the PPP had invoked the voodoo theory of half-men to claim a majority of 65 is 34 when the very existence of their government was based on having a majority of 33, this Eyewitness will bet dollars to donuts that the PNC – call it APNU or what you may – would’ve been in the streets in violent protests.
But it’s time to call a spade a spade in the continued outrage the PNC’s inflicting on the nation. After throwing out that “half-man” nonsense on stilts, the CCJ – as any court would do – interpreted the Constitution as far as the NCM was concerned. They ruled that the NCM was validly passed but they shouldn’t have stopped there. All courts, after interpreting the law (in this case the Constitution) have to then go on to issue orders to ensure the wrong is made right. In this case, that the elections be three months after the NCM as per Art 106 (6).
Recognising as it did that the actual deadline of March 21 had passed, the Court ruled that the “clock had been stopped” by the legal action but started ticking again on June 18. Where the CCJ made a fatal mistake (for our Constitution and the peace of Guyana) was to refer to the “integrity” of the parties to do the right thing. Meaning, of course, elections by Sept 18.
But the CCJ should’ve known that they were dealing with the PNC.

…merging
After the naiveté of the CCJ – your Eyewitness will give them the benefit of the doubt – since the PPP lead lawyer Mendez and his “seconds” hadn’t explicitly asked for a definitive date from them – we now have to deal with the new GECOM Chair who so happens to be a retired Judge. The issue in front of her was the same one posed by the CCJ to the government: holding elections ASAP.
From the moment your Eyewitness saw her taking her sweet time convening a meeting with the Commissioners to make a decision on the H2H, he smelled a rat. And lo and behold, the “Three-card Monte” continued. This time it was the voters’ list that faced the “now you see it and now you don’t” manoeuvres.
Four days was given to stop H2H and not immediately; the Secretariat doubled up the time for registrations during those four days; then the old list had to be merged with the (fixed) new one. With help from Jamaica.
No elections until first oil!!

…fake papers
It’s clear the PNC believes offence is the best defence. Knowing fully well they’ve provided Haitians, Venezuelans and Brazilians plus 16 year olds with fake birth certificates and other IDs, they’ve now accused the PPP of the deed!!
Taking their doo-doo…