President Donald Ramotar’s dreadful broadcast to the nation last Tuesday evening was the nadir of his troubled three-year tenure of office. It was an insult to the people of Guyana. It was an affront to the nation. It was a threat to paralyze the parliamentary process and smother the voices of their legitimate representatives in the National Assembly.
President Donald Ramotar’s dreadful broadcast to the nation last Tuesday evening was the nadir of his troubled three-year tenure of office. It was an insult to the people of Guyana. It was an affront to the nation. It was a threat to paralyze the parliamentary process and smother the voices of their legitimate representatives in the National Assembly.
The President’s broadcast aggravated the continuing constitutional crisis. It drained whatever confidence the public might have had in the People’s Progressive Party/Civic’s commitment to the democratic resolution of political issues. It shattered hopes that he could ever lead the nation for-ward out of the one-party, ‘winner-takes-all’ mentality of his predecessors.
The President’s broadcast was a political catastrophe for his Cabinet, his party and for this country. A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) will not accept the threatened denial of democracy. AP-NU will not accept the present level of ministerial irresponsibility. APNU will not accept continued non-compliance with the Constitution especially with regard to the compulsory conduct of local government elections. APNU will not accept disregard for the integrity and independence of the National Assembly. APNU will not be intimidated by the PPP/C’s domineering and dictatorial behavior.
The President’s mishandling of the most recent scandal involving the Minister of Legal Affairs has dismayed the nation and eroded public respect for the PPP/C regime. The President’s political gamesmanship in threatening to prorogue the Parliament is a dangerous departure from democratic norms. The President’s delay in the reconvening of the National Assembly and in the holding of local government elections has damaged democracy. Public confidence has drained away in several areas:
Ministerial responsibility: The public has lost confidence in several senior PPP/C ministers. The ‘Anilgate’ scandal involving vulgar and scurrilous statements made by the Minister of Legal Affairs during a telephone conversation; the Parliamentary vote of ‘no-confidence against the Minister of Home Affairs in July 2012; the jeering of the Minister of Education after her vulgar ‘feral blast’ in July 2014 and the referral of the Minister of Finance to the Committee of Privileges indicate how little confidence the public has in PPP/C Ministers.
Parliamentary independence: The President’s threat to prorogue or dissolve parliament is a constitutional outrage. It is a cowardly attempt to avoid the debate on the performance of his cabinet and his presidency. It is not a democratic solution to political problems. The Parliament is intended to be a place for discussion, debate, decision-making and the pas-sage of laws. Prorogation is a dangerous gambit intended to paralyze the parliamentary process but can have that can have unpredictable consequences. The President should face the debate on the PPP/C’s record in office rather than hide under the cover of prorogation. The President has obstructed the reconvening of Parliament for one month from 10th October to 10th November. He infringed on the Speaker's authority and intruded officiously into the affairs of the Legislative branch.
Supremacy of the Constitution: The President’s announced “intention to hold Local Government Elections in the Second Quarter of next year, 2015” flouts the Constitution and insults the nation. Local government elections, like general and regional elections, are a constitutional entitlement, not a benefaction of the government. The further postponement of elections to an unannounced date sometime in the second quarter of 2015 makes a mockery of the Constitution. It is a denial of democracy to delay elections. It is, equally, a denial of democracy to threaten the Parliament with dissolution or prorogation which will lead to the prolongation of the wait for local government elections.
President Ramotar has insulted the entire nation with his menacing remarks. The President has no grounds for trying to protect the damaged reputations of his ministers from parliamentary sanction, for intruding into the domain of parliamentary independence and for flouting the constitution. APNU iterates its expression of “no confidence” in the PPP/C administration.
