AG continues arguments on Parliamentary Committee of Selection
Attorney General, Anil Nandlall, yesterday continued his arguments regarding the constitutional motion his party filed earlier this month to challenge modifications to the Parliamentary Committees as proposed by the Parliamentary Opposition. The matter is being heard before Chief Justice Ian Chang.
Nandlall, along with Attorneys at Law Euclin Gomes, Manoj Naraine, Robin Hunte and Sase Gunraj among others are presenting the state’s case. Attorney at Law Nigel Hughes, Basil Williams, Khemraj Ramjattan, Robert Corbin, Roysdale Forde, Senior Counsel Rex Mc Kay and Former Opposition leader Robert Corbin are appearing for the opposition.
Nandlall continues to argue about the constitutionality of the Parliamentary Committee of Selection. The opposition parties which hold a majority have voted for the committees to be made up of nine members, but the government wants them to remain a 10-member committee and took the matter to court. The AG continued to cite several cases from within the Caribbean and a few developed countries.
Nandlall is arguing that what is being sought by the opposition in Parliament with the committees is being done against the Parliamentary norms, conventions and the constitution. The AG is seeking the court’s intervention to stop this. However, lawyers for the opposition are contending that Parliament and the Courts of Guyana are two separate pillars of the Constitution and therefore one could not intrude in the working of the other.
Nandlall yesterday spoke about the standing orders, which he says were drafted to meet the constitution. According to the AG in the cases which he cited, Parliament had allowed the motion, for which Parliamentarian and Presidential Candidate for the AFC, Khemraj Ramjattan, also shared this view.
However Ramjattan said that all of the cases cited failed to incorporate Article 172 (section 2), which was stated in the motion filed by the AG.
The AG moved to the court earlier this month to challenge the new arrangement for the Parliamentary Committee of Selection on which it was relegated to minority membership following the November 28 polls. The government’s chief spokesman, Dr Roger Luncheon, had stated that the government is seeking to achieve the same objective by way of a motion in the National Assembly, but that is not likely to find favour, since the opposition controls Parliament. The government is looking to fight the battle wherever it can in its attempts to quash the formation of the committee which gives the governing party – the PPP – and the opposition coalition -APNU – four members each.
The other opposition party, the AFC holds one seat on the committee. In court documents, Attorney General Nandlall stated that the government is seeking a declaration that the composition of the Committee of Selection “is in violation of the principle of proportionality as contemplated by Articles 60 and 160, of the Constitution and the provisions of the Elections Laws (Amendment) Act No.15 of 2000 and accordingly, unconstitutional, unlawful, null, void and of no effect.”
Further, the government wants the court to issue an order setting aside, revoking, cancelling or annulling the composition of the said Committee of Selection on the ground that it violates Articles 60 and 160 of the Constitution of Guyana and is in breach of the provisions of the Election Laws (Amendment) Act No. 15 of 2000. Opposition Leader David Granger and Speaker of the National Assembly, Raphael Trotman, are named as respondents in the case. Nandlall argued that the composition of the Committee of Selection is violative of the principle of proportionality as contemplated by the Constitution since in this configuration; the PPP/C with 32 seats has the same representation in the Committee with APNU which only secured 26 seats.