The Working People’s Alliance (WPA) yesterday said that while the holding of timely elections must be at the top of the government’s agenda, it should not inhibit it from carrying out its normal functions.
“There is no such thing as a half-government—there is either a fully empowered government or none at all,” the party, a member of the APNU coalition, said in a statement yesterday, in wake of the pronouncements by the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) on the result of the passage of a no-confidence motion against the government last December.
While resisting arguments for the issuance of coercive orders for the holding of polls, the court said effect has to now be given to Article 106 (6) and (7) of the Constitution.
Article 106(6) states, “The Cabinet including the President shall resign if the Government is defeated by the vote of a majority of all the elected members of the National Assembly on a vote of confidence.”
Article 106(7) adds, “Notwithstanding its defeat, the Government shall remain in office and shall hold an election within three months, or such longer period as the National Assembly shall by resolution supported by not less than two-thirds of the votes of all the elected members of the National Assembly determine, and shall resign after the President takes the oath of office following the election.”
The court further declared that the government now has a “caretaker” role until the holding of elections.
The WPA said while it accepts the court’s declaration that the government is now a caretaker, it rejects the idea being peddled by the PPP and others that its scope should be limited to preparation for elections. “For us, a caretaker government is a temporary government not a restricted government. It simply means that the government has lost its popular mandate and its continued tenure is dependent in the first place on the constitutional requirements or on a two-thirds vote of the National Assembly,” the party said.
As a result, the WPA said it supports government’s move to begin preparing the annual budget. “We disagree with the view that such a move is outside its mandate. Preparation of a budget is a necessary aspect of governance that must continue even when there is a political impasse. All governments have a responsibility to ensure that economic planning is not impeded by partisan political machinations. In other words, while the two sides work towards a solution, the budget process should not be held up,” it added.
At the same time, the party also reiterated an earlier call for the president and opposition leader to intensify the search for consensus on the way forward.
“Ultimately, only a political solution could move the process forward. The court was… clear about that. In that regard, we urge the two sides to do what it takes within reason to have credible elections in a timely manner,” it said. “Elections are not a beauty contest; they have consequences beyond the ballot box.
It follows that the matter of the GECOM chair should be resolved as quickly as possible so that that body could resume its work in earnest. WPA notes the president’s willingness to expedite the process and urges the opposition leader to be less inflexible. There can be no credible elections without GECOM’s input,” it further added.
The WPA also said it continues to believe that going to the elections with a voters’ list that does not enjoy the confidence of all sides is a recipe for further problems. As a result, it maintained that the most effective way to sanitise the list is by house-to-house registration.
Additionally, the party called on coalition supporters to move into “election mode” and added that it has started its own supplementary campaign by holding community meetings aimed at reasoning with the public on the way forward and rallying voters to exercise their right to vote in a sensible manner. Towards this end, the party said that in the coming weeks it would be visiting several communities on the East Coast and West Coast of Demerara, and in Linden.
