Dear Editor,
On 21st December 2018 the APNU+AFC Coalition government lost a no-confidence motion in the National Assembly. Article 106(6) of the Constitution of Guyana states:
“The Cabinet including the President shall resign if the Government is defeated by a vote of the majority of all the elected members of the National Assembly on a vote of confidence.”
The Caribbean Court of Justice held that Article 106(6) “immediately became engaged” when the no-confidence motion was passed.
Therefore from 21st December 2018 Guyana did not have a president or any ministers.
The Court of Appeal and the CCJ have both held that all that remained was a ‘caretaker’ government with limited powers and an obligation to call elections within 3 months.
There is not a single person in Guyana who is entitled to be called ‘president’, ‘prime minister’, ‘minister’ or ‘Attorney-General. Mr Granger, Mr Nagamootoo and all persons who held ministerial appointments in the APNU+AFC Coalition government must respect the Constitution and stop claiming titles such as ‘president’, ‘minister’, ‘prime minister’ or ‘Attorney-General.’
We ask all diplomatic missions and their respective governments, international organisations, all Guyanese citizens and organisations and entities, all national and international media, to refer to ‘former president’, ‘former PM’, ‘former minister’ or to use the political party designations (e.g. leader, deputy leader.) We are happy to see that Kaieteur News is already doing this.
The caretaker government failed to call elections by 18th September 2019 or to get an extension. This is a serious violation of the Constitution that means they stopped being a constitutional ‘caretaker’ government and became an unconstitutional illegitimate de facto administration.
It is now almost 16 months since the no-confidence motion and in all that time Guyana has not had a lawful president or cabinet. It is urgent to install a new government based on the will of the people.
Irrespective of any political agreement between Mr Granger and Mr Jagdeo, we insist that GECOM immediately obeys the laws of Guyana, finishes the verification and tabulation of the official statements of poll for the region 4 electoral district and makes a valid declaration in compliance with the instructions of the Chief Justice.
Yours faithfully,
Nigel Hinds
Marcel Gaskin
