…rules elections by Sept 18
The last foot has dropped on the PNC’s desperate moves to hold off elections by using the legal straw they were thrown when some snake oil salesman sold them a theory that 33 isn’t the majority of 65! The CCJ had given its judgements last June 18 that Patterson was illegally appointed by Granger, the NCM was validly passed, thus the Cabinet and President stood resigned! Yesterday they announced the “consequential orders” that flowed from the judgements.
Recognising the delicate political ground realities, the CCJ restated what was obvious from the beginning of this contrived contretemps: the Constitution was pellucid on what was to follow passage of a valid NCM in the National Assembly! It’s just the PNC playing the fool!! To wit, according to Art 106 (6) elections had to be held in 3 months. Unless of course, the Opposition PPP was willing to extend the time by returning to the National Assembly to do so with a two-third majority along with the Government.
So as the President of the CCJ pointed out in his inimitable style – there was no need to gild the lily of the Constitution when it came to the consequential orders. If there’d been no recourse to the Courts, elections would’ve had to be held by March 21 – 3 months after Dec 21, 2018. The recourse placed the timeline on “pause”, said the CCJ, but once they affirmed the NCM, the finger was taken off the “pause button”!! Elections, therefore, have to be held by Sept 18 – no ifs, ands, and buts, about it!!
But if you, dear reader, believe the PNC will go along with that timeline just because the CCJ affirmed that this is what the Constitution demands, then your Eyewitness has a bridge across the Essequibo River to sell you! They’ve already signalled the limb they’ll now jump on exclusively – GECOM!! The PNC’s equivalent to the “33 is not greater than 32” gambit in this area is that GECOM is an independent agency and they have to make their own decisions to fulfil their mandate! So when their hand-picked GECOM Chair Patterson echoed their party line that there needs to be H-t-H registration – which will put elections into 2020— you don’t need to be psychic to know what will be going down over the next few months!!
But the CCJ had a plaster for THAT sore!! It pointed out that GECOM isn’t above the Constitution – and, therefore, if the Constitution had said for decades that elections could be held in three months, then they should’ve been prepared for that eventuality.
And in the instant case, they’d better be ready for elections by Sept 18, 2019!!
…and rules of (political) engagement
Your Eyewitness was very disappointed that the CCJ was unwilling to be more specific in directing the selection of the GECOM Chair be consummated within a specified time frame. To ask the PNC to respect the “spirit and letter” of the Constitution – when they’ve done everything but walk all over it – is just avoiding their duty as the final Court of Appeal for this country.
As sure as the sun rises in the sky tomorrow morning, the PNC will be stretching out the selection process to get its way on the elections date. Imagine the Opposition Leader was magnanimous enough to suggest that that the President could SUGGEST some names – but Granger took this as an agreement that he was NOMINATING names for himself to approve!! This just illustrates and illuminates the nature of the PNC— in all matters, it’s either THEIR way or the highway!!
The PPP will have to bring its supporters into the streets to show the PNC that Guyanese will not stand for another PNC dictatorship be installed in broad daylight. Democracy must be defended at all costs!!
Power to the people!!
…and the international community
The ball is also now in the Court of the international community – especially the ABCE countries.
Only a legal Govt can secure their (oil) interests!
