Former President Donald Ramotar says that when his government was faced with a no-confidence motion from the opposition in 2014, it received legal advice from an attorney that at least 34 votes would be needed for the passage but he and his chief legal advisor did not believe that it would hold up in court and feared that it would cause public upheaval.
“I thought it was foolish then and I still think it is foolish now, given the clear wording of the constitution,” Ramotar told Stabroek News yesterday.
“To me, it was clear that 33 is the majority. I am no lawyer or constitutional expert, but in my view when the British instituted the Proportional Representation system, they deliberately used an odd number. I thought to say that to the people, when common sense prevails, that it would create problems in the country,” he added.
