The rigging of elections in Guyana has multi-dimensional aspects and in that it represents manifestations of the deepest fissures of our society. The Statements of Poll will never be produced by Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton and nothing the PPP/C Government does to provide an acceptable list of voters will satisfy APNU+AFC. Even if the biometric identity system is adopted, expensive as it is, flaws will be found at some point and at some level to demonstrate that it is being manipulated by the PPP. If removing all the names from the electoral list of persons who have died that are submitted by the Registrar of Births and Deaths, it will be claimed that persons in Guyana will overcome the obstacles of identification and finger staining at the polling station and vote in such large numbers for the PPP as to affect the outcome of the elections. Rigging, attempts to rig and accusations of rigging belie an embedded historical entitlement to political power.
Continue reading “THE RIGGING OF ELECTIONS”SHARED GOVERNANCE HAS NO POLITICAL SUPPORT
In the case of the Attorney-General v Richardson, the then Attorney General, Basil Williams, challenged in the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) the ruling of the Guyana Court of Appeal striking down as unconstitutional the provision of the Constitution that limited a President to two terms. During the hearing, it was revealed that the constitutional provision was one of the outcomes of a constitutional reform process starting in Guyana in 1999 and ending in 2001, when the implementation of the reforms by the National Assembly by constitutional amendments. The CCJ called for the Report.
Continue reading “SHARED GOVERNANCE HAS NO POLITICAL SUPPORT”WHERE IS MOSES NAGAMOOTOO?
Since Moses Nagamootoo ‘unfriended’ me from Facebook at the end of the elections’ crisis, I have been unable to trace those activities that he may choose to make public to FB friends. I had a minor spat with Moses over his publicly expressed opinion that the interest of the US in Guyana over the election period was because of its fears over Venezuela. I disagreed publicly, even though with the agreements emerging from Pompeo’s (the former US Secretary of State) visit, Moses may well have been right. His response to my sharp disagreement was a distasteful public admonishment to which I responded in kind. He took umbrage and terminated the FB association, not only with me but with my younger son, Kamal, who has always respectfully addressed him as ‘Uncle Moses’ and frequently engaged him in friendly and teasing banter when they met in the corridors of the High Court, an historic arena for conversation among lawyers ranging from low gossip to high legal principles. Kamal had played no role in our dispute. It was sad to lose a friendship of many decades over so trivial a matter, brought on by the heat of politics, which always subsided. It was a friendship which persisted even through the August 1997 period when he, as the shock force of a tiny minority, drove a stake through my nomination by Mrs. Janet Jagan to be the PPP’s presidential candidate for the elections of that year, which had obtained broad support around the table at a meeting of the Party’s executive committee.
Continue reading “WHERE IS MOSES NAGAMOOTOO?”ONE OF THE MOST ADVANCED CONSTITUTIONS IN THE REGION
The statement captioning this article was made by the President of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), the Hon. Justice Adrian Saunders, at the recent Bar Dinner. He mentioned the process of constitution reform that took place in 1999-2000 which resulted in many recommendations that were implemented in 2001. I have written about this before, but a reminder would be useful.
Continue reading “ONE OF THE MOST ADVANCED CONSTITUTIONS IN THE REGION”AUBREY NORTON IS AT A FORK IN THE ROAD
The fundamental objective of a political party is to gain political office and implement its policies for the benefit of the country. After months of grueling effort, Aubrey Norton has finally succeeded in overcoming ‘factionalism’ in the PNC by being nominated for a seat in the National Assembly and being elected as Opposition Leader. The word ‘factionalism’ is adopted from an editorial in Village Voice, an internet newspaper that is generally sympathetic to the Opposition. It discussed Norton’s journey from candidate to Opposition Leader.
Continue reading “AUBREY NORTON IS AT A FORK IN THE ROAD”