Home Letters The law is the law and all parties are bonded by it
Dear Editor,
The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) has ruled that the no-confidence vote passed on December 21, 2018, over six months ago, was valid, which means that the Government is now illegal.
In another pressing matter, the court also ruled that the unilateral appointment of the Chairman of the elections commission was also illegal, two very important and definitive decisions. In simple concise language, this means that the Government of David Arthur Granger has fallen. There should be a return to the ballot box and a fresh mandate sought for the people of this country, end of discussion.
The sum total of all of this is not what the Government or Opposition in Guyana thinks, it is not based on the legal opinion or lack thereof, of Government or Opposition, it is solely based on the Constitution and the rule of law. Whether Granger or Jagdeo likes or dislikes this aspect of the law is of no consequence to our discussion, the law is the law and all parties are bonded by it.
Now, the vexing issue of the appointment of a new GECOM Chairman has again hit centre stage and the reason for me saying this is before an appointment of a new Chairman can be made, there must be a revocation of the old. Neither of the two things Granger is prepared to do, and here is where the problem arises. The President is not going to let Patterson go, reason being Patterson was placed there to do dirty work in the rigging of the next election, so his argument for his illegal appointee to remain in office is real to him. In the same vein, Granger would not choose someone from Jagdeo’s list either, but shuffle around from one list to another just like he did earlier this year. Here is where the CCJ’s consequential order kicks in.
The final appellate court of our jurisdiction in its wisdom has anticipated this delay tactic of Granger, hence the consequential order for the parties to return to court on Monday. On June 24, the CCJ will make its final statement on the Guyana issue and from henceforth our country should be guided thereby. Elections are coming.
Respectfully,
Neil Adams