CCJ: Guyana gov't a caretaker administration

CCJ president Adrian Saunders
CCJ president Adrian Saunders

WHILE making it clear its role was not to establish a date for elections, the Caribbean Court of Justice on Friday advised that article 106 of Guyana’s Constitution was clear and should be followed.

Article 106 sets the procedure after the passage of no-confidence motions in that country’s national assembly and requires the resignation of the Cabinet, including the President, and that elections shall be held “within three months” unless the parliament, by no less than two-thirds of the votes, extends that period.

CCJ president Justice Adrian Saunders, at a post-judgment hearing in Trinidad, noted that the assembly had not extended the period.

Saunders urged, as a matter of public importance, the President and Leader of the Opposition to conclude, as soon as possible, the process of appointing a new chairman of the Guyana Election Commission (GECOM), and, on the question of elections, reminded that the CCJ had given its decision on the validity of December’s no-confidence vote in June.

The CCJ president cautioned that it was not the role of the court "to establish a date on, or by which, the elections must be held.

“Article 106 is clear and it should be followed,” he said, as the court stopped short of fixing timelines for a new general election to be held.

He noted that it is expected that the Government will continue as a caretaker government, but in light of this role it “should be restrained in the use of its legal authority.”

The CCJ also said it expected that all political bodies will operate with integrity in applying the provisions of the Constitution as it declined to issue coercive orders, as they will impose on the mandated functions of the various stakeholders.

Guyana’s opposition had asked the CCJ to order elections to be held within three months from the date of the court’s ruling on June 18, and that the President appoint a date.

Last month, the court held that the December 21 no-confidence motion was properly passed with a vote of 33 members in the 65-seat National Assembly.

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"CCJ: Guyana gov’t a caretaker administration"

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