Gerald Forde who served as Represen-tative of the List of The New Movement (TNM) but later left the party has written to GECOM asking for an investigation of how Dr Asha Kissoon’s name was submitted to Parliament and seeking to have her recalled to make way for the representative of ANUG in accordance with a three-party agreement.
In a letter dated March 5th, 2024 and addressed to Guyana Elections Commis-sion Chair, Justice of Appeal (ret’d) Claudette Singh SC, Forde said that he had become aware via the media of Dr Kissoon’s refusal to resign form Parlia-ment in accordance with the joinder list agreement for the March 2nd 2020 General and Regional Elections.
He said that the Deputy Representative of the List was Dr Josh Kanhai and they both functioned in keeping with the Representation of the People Act.
Due to internal issues, he said that both he and Kanhai left the party in 2020. Forde said that he did not recall officially writing to GECOM to have his name removed as the Representative of the List. He said that Kanhai also told him that he, too, did not officially write GECOM giving up the post of Deputy Representative of the List neither did he approve Dr Kissoon going to Parliament. Forde said that he had been under the impression that Kissoon had sought the imprimatur of the Deputy Representative to be forwarded as the parliamentary representative.
As a result of the contretemps over Kissoon’s refusal to leave Parliament, Forde said he learnt that another person has purportedly been named as Represen-tative of the List and this had enabled Kissoon’s ascension to Parliament.
“After reviewing the legislation, my concern is that the procedure in Part IX Section 98 of the Representation of the People Act was not followed since I was not called upon by the Chief Election Officer in order to ascertain my unwillingness or inability by reason of absence, illness or any other cause in relation to the execution of the function of allocation of a candidate to the National Assembly”, he said, adding that neither was Kanhai.
Forde therefore called for an investigation of the true identity of the Representative of the List of TNM “because of the serious consequences it has if neither the representative nor the deputy representative of that list signed for Dr Kissoon to go to the National Assembly”.
These, he said, would include that Kissoon ascended to the National Assembly in a manner not in accord with the Representation of the People Act and that GECOM may not have done its due diligence in confirming the true identity of the Representative of the List of the TNM.
Forde said that if during the investigation it is found that he is still the Representative of the List he wants Kissoon, currently the Deputy Speaker of parliament, to be recalled so that the way could be paved for A New and United Guyana (ANUG) candidate Althia King.
Kissoon has thrice refused to answer queries from Stabroek News as to why she is not giving up her seat in accordance with the agreement that had been reached among TNM, ANUG and the Liberty and Justice Party (LJP) for the sharing of the one seat that they hold in Parliament. LJP has served its term while TNM’s period has expired and should have made way for ANUG since last year.
Leader of the LJP Lenox Shuman last week called on Kissoon to do the “honourable thing” and resign from the National Assembly to facilitate the representative from ANUG.
“…I think the verdict has been unexpected and I think it is very dishonourable..” Shuman said of Kissoon’s action in not vacating her seat after her allotted time had expired.
ANUG in a statement two Saturdays ago noted that itself, LJP and TNM, executed a Memorandum of Understanding in January 2020, agreeing to merge the votes earned by them if sufficient to take a seat in Parliament, and to share occupation of that seat in Parliament in proportion to the votes earned by each.
The statement added that the result of the election was that LJP and ANUG, each with more than 2200 votes, would occupy the single seat won by the merger for the majority of the time, while TNM, with 244 votes, was entitled to occupy the seat for 91 days.
Because the Constitution of Guyana provides for the removal of a Member of Parliament only by his resignation or by his removal by the Representative of his party’s List, it was clearly understood that the Memorandum of Understanding was based on trust and integrity, since it would not be enforced in Court, the statement had said, while adding that the three parties would have to trust each other.
“After the 2020 Election, Mr. Lenox Shuman took occupation of the single merger seat on behalf of LJP, and occupied that seat for two and one-half years, before honouring his commitment and resigning…
“Dr. Asha Kissoon duly assumed the seat in Parliament on behalf of TNM. If she intended to honour the commitment made by her in the Memorandum of Understanding, Dr. Kissoon should have resigned that seat in November, 2023”, the statement had said.
Kissoon, the statement pointed out, has now held that seat for more than twice her permitted allocation under the arrangement of trust set out in the Memorandum of Understanding.
“She has so far refused to relinquish her seat, and remains an imposter in possession of the seat as a Member of Parliament against the will of the electorate as a result of her breach of trust, and has not committed in writing to ANUG to any timeline whatsoever to demit office.
“Her single verbal and informal promise to vacate office on 29th February, 2024, three months late, has now apparently also been breached by Dr. Kissoon”, the statement added.
ANUG called on Kissoon “to do the right thing”, stating that it is regrettable that such circumstances have arisen, “further undermining the confidence of the Guyanese people in third parties”.
On January 6 this year, ANUG introduced Althia King as its elected representative to Parliament.
