Without general elections by September 18, the “ship of Guyana sails into unchartered constitutional waters and nobody knows just what will happen”, political commentator and former Speaker of the National Assembly, Ralph Ramkarran told an American Chamber of Commerce in Guyana (AmCham) event last evening at the Marriott Hotel.
AmCham organised the meeting to address the implications of the consequential orders of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) on business in Guyana. On June 18, the CCJ upheld the motion of no confidence against the APNU+AFC government and in its consequential orders of July 12 it said that the provisions of the constitution mandating general elections in 90 days from June 18 were in effect.
Three months from June 18 would be September 18 and this was the date cited by Ramkarran yesterday. The timeframe for elections can only be enlarged if two thirds of the National Assembly agrees to this. However, the opposition PPP has said it would not be returning to parliament to facilitate an extension. The PPP has argued that general elections should have been held by March 21st this year and that the government has dragged out the process and defied the constitution.
