Granger’s continued hold on power… Guyana being pushed towards its worst constitutional crisis – Ram
By holding on to power, President David Granger is “pushing Guyana towards the worst constitutional crisis in its history”.
This is the view of Attorney-at-law, Christopher Ram.
President David Granger
Ram said that President Granger continues to ignore Article 106 (7) of the Constitution, which imposes on the Government the primary duty to hold elections within ninety days from the passage of the No Confidence Motion. He said that this is despite the Chief Justice Roxane George-Wiltshire’s pronouncement that the Cabinet and President automatically resigned on the passage of the no-confidence motion.
The Attorney-at-law then pointed out that the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Administration and its Executive are fully aware that election should be held in 90 days unless the timeline is extended by a two-thirds majority. Yet, GECOM is not operating accordingly.
“But this in no way takes President Granger and the APNU+AFC off the hook,” said Ram.
Ram said that the Constitution provides for the eventuality where the Government and the President fail to comply with Article 106 (7).
Ram said, “President Granger seems to have argued that the country cannot be without a President, since there must be a Head of State and Commander of the Armed Forces. I submit that if the President thinks he can be the beneficiary of his Government’s own obstinacy and the illegality, he is deluding himself. “
The Lawyer continued, “His Attorney General needs to advise him of Article 95 ‘Vacancy in the Office of the President’ and Article 197A ‘Defence and security.’”
Ram explained that Article 95, which provides the order of precedence when there is no President, lists the next in line as the Prime Minister, followed by an elected member of the National Assembly elected by the Cabinet, and next by the Chancellor.
He said that since legally—upon the passage of a no-confidence—there is no President, Prime Minister or any Cabinet to elect any person, “the poisoned chalice falls on the Chancellor. The functions of Chancellor are then passed to another Judge as per Article 127 (2).”
According to Ram, “If Mr. Granger, then without the title of honorific President, still wants to play obstinate, Article 197A will be triggered”.
He said that the Article makes the defence and security arm of the State the guarantor of the normal functioning of institutions, of which the Presidency is the highest. Ram said that so
Attorney-at-Law, Christopher Ram
me may argue that the use of the words “defence and security policy” in Article 197A are not as clear and unambiguous as they ought to be, “but some clarity is offered in paragraph 9.18.2.1 of the Annotated Handbook of the Constitution Reform Commission. The oath Officers take is to “honour, uphold and preserve the Constitution” and accordingly, they will have a duty to secure the presidency, which under Article 95 devolves on the Chancellor.”
Ram said that the popular view in Guyana is that President Granger is a “decent man.”
Ram said that this “decent man” will have to ask himself whether he is willing to have the Army, for the first time in this country, play a role in its government. “Such a situation is too frightening to contemplate, and it has to be hoped that even the most battered, bruised and disappointed politicians would want to prevent such an eventuality.”
Ram said that in short, the President and his Ministers “will then push Guyana into its worst constitutional crisis in its history, since even the suspension of the 1953 constitution was made legal by an Order in Council.”
