By Femi Harris-Smith
While giving the government and the opposition more time to find common ground, the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) yesterday set July 12th as the date when it will make orders based on its findings that the vote of no-confidence against the APNU+AFC administration was validly passed, thereby requiring elections, and that the Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) was unlawfully appointed.
At a hearing, broadcast from the seat of the Court in Port of Spain, Trinidad, the judges heard from attorneys for the respective parties to the proceedings that no consensus had been reached since they handed down their ruling one week ago.
And while Senior Counsel Douglas Mendes, who represents opposition leader Bharrat Jagdeo, urged that the court give effect to Article 106 of the Constitution, which requires that general elections be held within three months of the passage of a no-confidence motion unless a two-thirds majority of the House agrees on an extension, Senior Counsel Stanley Marcus, who is representing GECOM, reported that the earliest a new voters’ list would be ready is Christmas Day. GECOM had previously indicated that the polls could be held in November, following a new national house-to-house registration, which had been due to begin this month.
