CCJ sets May 10 for hearing of Guyana's no-confidence appeal

GUYANA’s highest appellate court – the Trinidad-based Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) – has set May 10 for the hearing of a consolidated challenge of that country’s appellate court ruling which invalidated December’s no-confidence vote against the ruling coalition government.

President of the CCJ Justice Adrian Saunders and Justices Jacob Wit and David Hayton presided over a case management hearing for three applications which all seek to have Guyana’s Court of Appeal ruling thrown out.

At today’s session, the CCJ judges granted leave to the appellants, which include Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo for the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) and lawmaker Charrandass Persaud, to file their challenges.

The court also abridged the time for the filing of the appeal, despite an objection by Guyana’s Attorney General who argued that a shortening of the time was likely to prejudice any cross appeal he may wish to file.

However, Saunders said the CCJ was concerned and duty bound to uphold Guyana’s Constitution and to do that it was important to abridge the time for the filing of the appeal given the high constitutional importance of the challenges.

The appellants are asking the court to throw out last Friday’s ruling of Guyana’s Court of Appeal and restore the validity of the no-confidence motion that toppled President David Granger’s ruling coalition government.

The application for the urgent hearing says the issue before the court was of “great and general public importance” which “triggered serious constitutional consequences” including the resignation of Cabinet and the holding of national and regional elections in Guyana.

It adds that the resolution of the issues in the appeal “will be to the benefit of the people of Guyana generally” and the people of Guyana “suffered a grave miscarriage of justice” which can only be remedied on appeal to the CCJ.

In December, Persaud, who was a member from Granger’s APNU-AFC coalition, sided with the opposition.

The motion was appealed and last Friday, Guyana’s Court of Appeal, in a majority ruling, held that there was a need for an absolute majority of 34 votes for the no-confidence motion to be passed, and not the 33 votes it received in December.

By a majority of two to one, the appellate court judges ruled that the no-confidence motion was not passed.

In their application, they are seeking to restore the decision of the acting Chief Justice on January 31, which validated the no-confidence vote, a declaration that the vote was validly passed by a majority of all elected members of the National Assembly and that 33 votes constituted a majority of all elected members of the National Assembly.

They contend by section 106(6) of the Constitution of Guyana, the Cabinet, including the president, is required to resign if the Government is defeated on the vote of a majority of all elected members of the assembly on a vote of no- confidence.

They say the assembly is comprised of 65 elected members and on December 21, last year, when 33 members voted in favour of the motion and 32 against, the speaker declared the motion passed.

They also contend that the Government was required to hold an election in three months, on or before March 22.

Persaud, meanwhile, is also challenging the contention that he was ineligible to vote because he held dual citizenship, while there is a separate challenge against the decision by Granger to appoint Justice James Patterson as chairman to the Guyana Elections Commission (GEOCOM) on the basis that he was not qualified for appointment.