ATTORNEY General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, is inviting any Guyanese to file a lawsuit against the Speaker of the National Assembly, Raphael Trotman, for allowing a constitutional bill to be approved with a simple majority in the House, even as the government accuses the Deputy Speaker, Deborah Backer, of attempting a coup d’État. Nandlall was at the time appearing at a  People’s Progressive Party (PPP) media briefing at Freedom House, along with Parliamentarian and Presidential Advisor on Governance, Gail Teixeira and Junior Finance Minister Bishop Juan Edghill, among others.
Any such lawsuit Nandlall concedes, will also have to name him as a defendant, given the  nature of his office as legal advisor to and representative of the state.
Nandlall told media operatives yesterday during the party’s press briefing that he has not decided on whether the government will approach the court for a further clarification.
The Constitutional (Amendment) Bill, introduced by A Partnership for National Unity’s (APNU’s), Carl Greenidge, seeks to amend the Constitution of Guyana and was approved last Thursday in the House, by a simple majority.
The Guyana Government maintains its position that such a move requires a two- thirds majority vote.
The Attorney General told media operatives that following the debate on Thursday last, he was approached by Alliance For Change (AFC) Leader, Khemraj Ramjattan and APNU’s second-in-command, Dr Rupert Roopnarine, who according to Nandlall, “encouraged me to have the matter ventilated in the court for a clarification.”
Nandlall said the opposition members “see substance in the arguments advanced.”
The government’s legal advisor, in reminding of his hesitancy to approach the court, deferred to the citizenry, saying that he is quite sure that there are many concerned Guyanese who are interested in the matter.
The Attorney General invited members of the public to file a lawsuit against the substantive Speaker, Trotman, “for allowing the Bill to go through.”
Expanding on his hesitancy to approach the courts, Nandlall suggested that it is the Opposition that is in doubt as to whether the Bill piloted by Greenidge, can in fact amend the Guyana Constitution with a simple majority
The enraged parliamentarians met with media operatives and complained bitterly also against the Opposition’s actions in the House, with Teixeira levelling the coup d’État claims against Backer.
According to the Presidential Advisor, Backer had been asked to hold the post for the Speaker in his absence for “two hours.”
It was during this time she purportedly overthrew a ruling by the substantive Speaker Raphael Trotman, when he allowed Home Affairs Minister, Clement Rohee, to make a statement to the House at its previous sitting.
“This is not to be taken lightly, basically it was a coup… there was a coup d’État in the Parliament by the deputy who was holding the seat.”
Teixeira called the actions by Backer “an indication of the bullyism and total disregard for norms and practice and more importantly, the decisions of the Speaker.”
The PPP Member of Parliament said too that the decision by Trotman was made following months of deliberations and consultations with legal minds across the Region and farther afield.
Calling last Thursday’s decision by Backer a “new dynamic to threaten of parliamentary democracy,” Teixeira said that Conventions and Standing Orders continue to be eroded undermining  Parliament in the process.
“Clearly the mood in Parliament and the behaviour on the floor does not give one much hope that the Opposition intends to change its approach and move from one-vote dictatorship.”