Our leaders must act in the interest of Guyana

Apr 02, 2019 Letters

DEAR EDITOR,

APNU+AFC demands all must respect the courts. Their demand follows the rulings of the appellate court that the No-Confidence Motion (NCM) is not valid because 33 is not more than 32, in accordance with the APNU+AFC-inspired revision of mathematical rules, now shockingly endorsed by two judges of the Guyana Court of Appeals. Yet, it is this same APNU+AFC which refused to honour the rulings of the Chief Justice on December 31st when she ruled that the NCM was valid. Moreover, simultaneously as APNU+AFC is demanding honouring the split-decision ruling of the Appellate Court on the NCM, in itself is dishonouring the rulings of both the Chief Justice and the Appellate Court that dual citizens must not continue sitting in the Parliament. Since December 21st 2018, therefore, APNU+AFC has been breaching the laws of Guyana, pronouncing that everyone, excepting APNU+AFC, must honour the courts and parliament. This is utter hypocrisy and lawlessness. Only bullies and dictators behave this way.
These are times, which demand our political leaders ascend to the greater good, acting in the interest of Guyana and the Guyanese people. There is a grave political crisis hammering the economic and social welfare of every Guyanese citizen. Yet, APNU+AFC behaves as if they have a divine right to power, disavowing every tenets of our constitution and disregarding the judiciary. Their arrogance, hypocrisy and bully tactics daily bring greater stress and stagnation in our country. Freedom and democracy are under siege once again in our country.
David Granger and APNU+AFC continue to bully and subvert the most important institutions, which guarantee Guyana’s freedom and democracy and ensure justice. The Constitution is under constant attack and subversion. Parliament, APNU+AFC’s personal playground, functions at their whims and fancies, and even mathematics is not safe. GECOM, totally compromised, is now a creature of APNU+AFC. The Judiciary is under assault and, for many of us; it has succumbed to APNU+AFC’s authority, disavowing the law. The recent decisions of the Appeals Court relating to the NCM, clearly with no legal basis and evidently a political decision, must shock and frighten everyone.
On January 31, 2019, the Chief Justice in the High Court made three decisions. First, that the NCM of December 21, 2018 in Guyana’s Parliament was valid, that based on this decision, the Government must set a date for elections and GECOM must conduct those elections. Second, that MP Charandass cast a valid vote and that all 65 votes were valid. Third, that dual citizens in Guyana’s Parliament henceforth must resign their seats and that no one is eligible to sit in Parliament while a dual citizen. APNU+AFC was bound by these decisions to comply with immediate effect. APNU+AFC refused to respect these decisions, disregarding the rulings of the Chief Justice, based on the spurious argument they had lodged an appeal. Like bullies and dictators, they created their own laws.
After the Court of Appeals handed down its split, majority 2 to 1 decision, APNU+AFC wasted no time that same evening to demand everyone respects one of the court’s decisions. In the instance of the Court of Appeals decision, while demanding everyone respects the court decisions, APNU+AFC itself has chosen to respect only that part that was in its favour – the part that says the NCM is not valid because 33 is not more than 32. APNU+AFC vigorously embraced the ruling on this one matter because they envisaged it as giving them a lifeline to stay in Government. It immediately announced it will resume Parliament and Cabinet meetings. Cabinet is already meeting, as if the NCM did not happen. Parliament is set to meet on April 11, with APNU+AFC boasting all its dual citizen MPs will be there.
While demanding everyone respects the court’s decision on the NCM, APNU+AFC ignores and disrespects the court’s decision on the other two matters – that dual citizens cannot sit anymore in Parliament and that all votes cast in Parliament on December 21 were valid. Basically, the Courts of Appeal unequivocally declared that in any sitting of Parliament as of immediate effect no MP can be dual citizens. The High Court and the Court of Appeals, in effect, have resigned all dual citizens and the political parties must replace them immediately. APNU+AFC’s defiantly responded that all its present MPs will sit in Parliament, no matter who says what.
Shamefully, APNU+AFC argues that its failure to comply with the Chief Justice ruling was because it had appealed the rulings. Its argument for its continued non-compliance with both the high Court and the Appellate Court on dual citizens is that it has appealed the case to the CCJ. Yet it has ignored the fact that the NCM invalidation by the Court of Appeals in Guyana is under appeal at the CCJ and the case process has already started. It is a reprehensible manifestation of Animal Farm, “we are all equal but some are more equal than others”. This is sheer hypocrisy, but more importantly, it is APNU+AFC at it most extreme manifestation of being a big, bad bully.

Dr. Leslie Ramsammy