Georgetown : The announcement of May 11, 2015 as polling day for the general and regional elections in Guyana by President Donald Ramotar has resulted in some stakeholders questioning when the Parliament will be formally dissolved. According to Cabinet Secretary Dr. Roger Luncheon, who ventured to answer the query, the constitution states that this must be done three months prior to the announced date for the polls and this “does provide the drop dead date”.
Dr Luncheon added that lesser views exist on the issue, “in that it is no less than three months. In other words, you can indeed dissolve anytime, no later than before the time of polling. That is not exactly what the constitution says, it might of course be what is meant, but it isn’t exactly what the constitution says. I have accorded that and some of my colleagues agree with me, a lesser option. So you’re looking at the dissolution, three months exactly from the 11th of May….that puts you sometime around the 8th or 9th of February”.
The non-dissolution of Parliament before naming of the date for general and regional elections has caused some to question the legality of the President’s actions. Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall said the president’s action was legal and done in accordance with the constitution.
“The constitution resides in the president a power to appoint a date for elections of members to the National Assembly. The constitution says that the president must exercise by the issuance of a proclamation, and the date which is fixed must be a date which falls within three months after the dissolution of the parliament”. He added that the language which describes the actions to be taken by the president is, in his humble opinion, not ambiguous and capable of any misinterpretation, “I do not understand how these concerns are emanating”.
President Ramotar has signed a proclamation making the date official and this will be advertised as required in the Gazette.
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