November 1, 2021
Dear Editor,
The statement by President Irfaan Ali that he is prepared to meet Opposition Leader Joseph Harmon without any preconditions, and that he was “very committed” to the constitution and will do everything it requires him to do, is encouraging. So here is what Article 127 (1) of the Constitution in its own unvarnished language requires him to do.
“(1) The Chancellor and the Chief Justice shall each be appointed by the President, acting after obtaining the agreement of the Leader of the Opposition.”
A plain reading of this provision is that the obligation is on the President to obtain the agreement of the Leader of the Opposition. There is no need under this or any other provision of the Constitution for the Leader of the Opposition to recognise the President, or for the President and the Leader of the Opposition to meet with each other, or for them to engage in “meaningful consultation”, as is provided for under 127 (2) for a different set of circumstances. Those circumstances essentially are where the holders of the positions of Chancellor or Chief Justice are for any reason unable to perform their functions.
All that is practically required of the President to advance this process is to write Harmon stating that “I write to notify you that pursuant to Article 127 (1) of the Constitution of Guyana, I propose to appoint so-and-so and so-and-so as Chancellor of the Judiciary and Chief Justice respectively. As the Constitution further requires, I hereby seek your agreement to these appointments or your reasons why they should not be appointed. I look forward to your early response and to the settlement of this long-outstanding matter.”
It is depressing to witness politicians on both sides of the political divide engaging in petty tit-for-tat and cheap retail politics, content with, oblivious to, or facilitating the daily plunder and pillage of our country and national patrimony by foreigners. I certainly did not take court action on the No Confidence Motion or participate in the struggle against the crude and thankfully unsuccessful attempt at an electoral coup only to see our Constitution being made into a political football, or for our politicians to return to business as usual. We voted to send our representatives to the National Assembly to debate on the country’s pressing issues, for our political leaders to behave like adults, and to have competence, transparency and democratic governance as our national ethos. Not a masquerade in which adults behave like schoolboys, our Parliament in slumber and major national issues left unattended or haphazardly addressed.
The President must now deliver on his duty – buttressed by but not dependent on his personal commitment – to step up and meet his obligation under Article 127 (1). He must then show transformative qualities and act speedily on the several other constitutional and parliamentary omissions which are fast becoming our new normal. Failure to do so leads inexorably to a reversal of our fragile democracy saved on August 2, 2020.
Yours faithfully,
Christopher Ram