Granger says elections will be on March 2nd

-not conditional on parliamentary extension

President David Granger speaking with the media yesterday at the Cyril Potter College of Education on the election date. (Ministry of the Presidency photo)
President David Granger speaking with the media yesterday at the Cyril Potter College of Education on the election date. (Ministry of the Presidency photo)

President David Granger now says that General and Regional Elections will be held on March 2, 2020 whether or not the opposition People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) returns to Parliament and grants an extension.

On Wednesday in an address to the nation, Granger cited March 2, 2020 as the earliest date for general elections but did not issue a proclamation of that date as is legally required and fuelled further doubts about the way forward when he insisted that Parliament must meet to grant an extension of the period for polls, a demand the opposition PPP/C had repeatedly said was out of the question.

However when he was questioned yesterday, the President said that while his choice of words were conditional the date is not.

President David Granger speaking to reporters at the Cyril Potter College of Education yesterday. (Department of Public Information photo)

“Elections will be held on the 2nd March. That is the advice I received. I did not want to use perhaps more definitive terms, because I expected that in accordance with the Constitution, we would have to go to Parliament, but if the Opposition doesn’t go to Parliament, well we will abide by what I said last night. Elections will be on the 2nd March. That is as definitive as I can get,” he told reporters at the Cyril Potter College of Education.

Granger, who has come under mounting pressure from the international community to name a date and has had his government described as unconstitutional, further said that he was “quite guarded” in his remarks to give “the commission an opportunity to publicize its own work schedule.”

“It is not my intention to micromanage the process,” he noted, adding that he met with retired Justice Claudette Singh, the Chair-man of the Commission on Wednesday and learned that there is a work schedule that has to be approved by the commission itself. 

“I expect once the commission has given that final approval other requirements would be met,” he stressed.

Those requirements include a period of Claims and Objections which will begin on October 1.

In his brief address to the nation on Wednesday, Granger said that Parliament would meet on October 10th for the purpose of requesting an extension of the three-month period for the holding of general elections in the aftermath of a successful motion of no-confidence.

Article 106 (7) of the constitution says that “Not-withstanding 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”.

At a press conference yesterday, Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo reiterated that the PPP/C would not be approving any extension in Parliament of the period for the holding of elections. (See other story on page 10.) It has been pointed out that the government had the three-month period from December 21, 2018 – the date of the passage of the no-confidence motion – to negotiate an extension of the period and failed to do this. It had a further period from June 18  this year after the Caribbean Court of Justice upheld the December 21, 2018 motion of no-confidence and again made no attempt to negotiate an extension. Granger’s first formal reference to seeking an extension came on September 25th – a week after the second three-month period ended.

Noting that Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Justice (Rtd) Claudette Singh had written him on  Thursday, 19th September 2019, indicating that GECOM  “will be able to deliver credible elections by the end of February 2020”, Granger said that he met with his Cabinet.

“I convened a meeting of available Cabinet ministers that very day, within hours of receiving her advice, to discuss the timeline provided to me by the Chairman.

“A second meeting of the full Cabinet was held yesterday, 24th September 2019, when all members accepted the advice provided by the Chairman of the Elections Commission”, Granger said.

He added that Cabinet ministers also benefitted from the advice of Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Basil Williams and were “guided by the need to adhere scrupulously to the advice of the Elections Commission”.

He said that he also met the  Chairman of  GECOM on Wednesday afternoon when she discussed the statutory timelines for the upcoming General and Regional Elections.

The President then went on to explain how he arrived at March 2nd.

“Guyanese, Guyana will observe its 50th anniversary as a Republic on Sunday, 23rd February 2020. The following day, 24th February 2020 will be a national holiday”, he said before identifying Monday, March 2nd.