Tag Archives: Parliament

Guyana Politics: GECOM awaits written High Court decision; 230,000 registered so far

Photo: GECOM Chairman Claudette Singh flanked by (left to right) PPP-aligned election commissioners Robeson Benn, Bibi Shadick, and Sase Gunraj and pro-coalition commissioners Charles Corbin, Vincent Alexander and Desmond Trotman.
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The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) on Thursday (August 15, 2019) did not discuss the implications of the High Court judgement on house-to-house registration and related matters because commissioners were yet to obtain a copy of the written decision by Chief Justice Roxane George-Wiltshire, an elections commissioner said.Government-appointed elections commissioner, Vincent Alexander expected the seven-member body to meet again by Monday before GECOM Chairperson, Retired Justice Claudette Singh informs President David Granger on the way forward.      Continue reading

Guyana Politics: President remains in office until next elections if no PPP support for House extension -AG

Anil Nandlall (left) and Basil Williams

Attorney General Basil Williams  on Monday August 5, said President David Granger would remain in office and call elections if the opposition People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPPC) refuses to give its parliamentary support to extend the timeframe within which general elections must be held following last December’s no-confidence motion.

He said it would now fall to the President to fix a date for an election and dissolve parliament. “There is no constitutional crisis,” he said.      Continue reading

Guyana Politics: No walkouts, only law-based decisions for elections – new GECOM Chairman

No walkouts, only law-based decisions for free, fair and transparent elections- new GECOM Chairman

Newly-appointed Chairperson of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Retired Justice Claudette Singh on Monday vowed to make decisions based on Guyana’s laws and the constitution, while signaling that she would not tolerate any walkouts from meetings of the seven-member commission.      Continue reading

PPP dual-citizenship MPs to resign, Adrian Anamayah will not renounce US nationality

PPP ‘s Adrian Anamayah and Oppostion Leader Bharrat Jagdeo

said his People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPPC) Members of Parliament (MPs), who are holders of dual citizenship, would be resigning and only one of them has informed that he would not be renouncing his American citizenship.

Jagdeo said that person is backbencher, Attorney-at-law Adrian Anamayah. “He has explained to me that there are family obligations and other issues so he will not renounce because of those commitments…,” he said.            Preview (opens in a new tab) Continue reading

Guyana Politics: Bharrat Jagdeo’s decisions have hurt the PPP – By James McAllister

The arrogance and hubris of Bharrat Jagdeo are not working for the PPP

After the No-Confidence Motion (NCM), Jagdeo had hoped pressure from his cohorts in the Private Sector Commission (PSC), and at the Stabroek News would have forced the government to resign. If this had happened, Jagdeo would have nullified a significant amount of the incumbency advantage the government enjoys. In addition, he would have forced election within a period when the government was still absorbing the powerful message its supporters sent during the Local Government Elections (LGE). There would have been no time for adjustment or correction.

However, once there was the combination of the government’s move to the court, and the Guyana Elections Commission’s (GECOM) decision to inform the President that elections were not possible before house-to-house registration, he should have adjusted his strategy. Once the issue moved to the courts, impartial observers accepted that the Government was entitled to due process. After all, this was not a case where the PPP won an election and the government was refusing to demit office. This was the case where the dubious vote of a government MP was procured under questionable circumstances.      Continue reading

PPP to boycott Parliament until CCJ ruling on no-confidence case

PPP to boycott parliamentary sittings until CCJ ruling on no-confidence case

Demerara Waves – March 24, 2019

The opposition People’s Progressive Party (PPP) on Sunday announced that it would be boycotting parliamentary sittings until the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) rules on whether the no-confidence motion was validly passed by Guyana’s National Assembly.

“The General Secretary of the PPP wishes to place on record that the People’ s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C ) will not attend any sitting of the National Assembly, while the Appeal in the no-confidence motion is pending at the Caribbean Court of Justice,” the PPP said on its Facebook page.

The appeal could be filed this week, lawyers said.      Continue reading

Guyana Politics: Court of Appeal invalidates No-Confidence Vote; Gov’t stays in Office

—Jagdeo tones down call for polling date – Will Appeal to the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ)

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo Friday night appeared to tone down calls for President David Granger to announce an early election date after Guyana’s Court of Appeal ruled that the no-confidence motion was not validly passed.

He, however, said his People’s Progressive Party (PPP) would continue to demand that the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) be in a state of readiness for  early polls because the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) could soon decide whether Friday’s decision by the Appeal Court that last December’s no-confidence motion needed 34 instead of 33 votes was valid.      Continue reading

NO ELECTION DATE: Jagdeo-Granger talks ended in stalemate; President to meet GECOM

President David Granger Wednesday morning maintained that he could not call an election date unless the “independent” Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) is ready, and he is expected to meet the seven-member body next week.

“GECOM is in charge of elections, not the Executive. I cannot decide when elections will be held,” he said minutes after meeting Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo.

The Guyanese leader said he would be asking GECOM how much money as well as time it needs to prepare for the conduct of general and regional elections.    Continue reading

Guyana: The Government’s Fall Was Always A Distinct Possibility – by Ralph Ramkarran

Ralph Ramkarran

Posted on December 22, 2018 – by Ralph Ramkarran – Conversation Tree Blog

What transpired in the National Assembly on Friday evening was always a distinct possibility, with the Government’s one seat majority. Election results mean something. In 2011, the electorate told the PPP/C that it wants that party to join in a coalition to manage the affairs of the nation. The PPP/C ignored the message. The electorate removed it from office in 2015. Then it proceeded to give the APNU+AFC coalition a mere one seat majority.

This conveyed another message – that the APNU+AFC coalition government should proceed cautiously and engage with the Opposition.             Continue reading

Guyana’s Legislature: “A Brawling Parliamentary Slum” – By Ralph Ramkarran

‘A HOWLING PACK OF LEGISLATIVE HOSTILES’ IN ‘A BRAWLING PARLIAMENTARY SLUM
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 Written by Ralph Ramkarran – Conversation Tree Blog – Saturday, 15th December 2018

Ralph Ramkarran

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A scathing editorial in the Kaieteur News last Friday shockingly castigated Members of Parliament in most un-parliamentary language, from which the headline is taken. Here is another sample: “In some respects what Guyana has is not a legislative body, but a Roach Motel overflowing with a cast of creepy characters, a real life Bates Motel horror of shocks that frightens the public. It is obvious that the great majority of members have little by way of shame or nonnegotiable moral imperatives.
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“This is a set of people paid well to perform and deliver the crass and the cheap. They like being the way they are. They do not prepare, do no research, have no pride. They falsify, they exaggerate, they dissemble and all the while revel with their fellows in what has been reduced to a brawling parliamentary slum. They care neither about the image projected nor the impressions left.”               Continue reading
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