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GEORGETOWN, Guyana, March 25, 2019 (CMC) – The main opposition People’s Progressive Party-Civic (PPP-C) says it will boycott sittings of the National Assembly, until the Trinidad and Tobago-based Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) rules on its appeal, regarding the recent Appeal Court ruling.
Last Friday, the three-member Court of Appeal, by a split decision, ruled that the no-confidence motion — which was passed in the National Assembly in December, last year — was invalid, after the government had challenged a High Court ruling in January, that had validated the motion that had been filed by Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo.
In a statement posted on its website, the PPP-C said its general secretary, who is also Jagdeo, “wishes to place on record” that the party “will not attend any sitting of the National Assembly, while the appeal court ruling is pending at the Caribbean Court of Justice”.
In its ruling the Court of Appeal said that the motion had to be passed by 34 — instead of 33 — of the 65 members in the Assembly, in order to have been valid.
Chancellor of the Judiciary, Yonnette Cummings-Edwards, and Justice, Dawn Gregory, ruled that the threshold, required for a no-confidence motion, was 34 votes, while Justice, Rishi Persaud, provided a dissenting ruling.
Jagdeo had said, last weekend, that he never thought that this issue of an absolute majority of 34 is now needed to pass a no confidence vote.
“It is probably the weakest argument, yet there is a ruling, of two to one, in this nature and we have to challenge it.
“So I want to say to all Guyanese we have made it clear we will be respectful of the ruling of the Court of Appeal, we have always been respectful of the rulings of the courts. One of the reasons we joined the CCJ is to have this external review and we hope that we will be able to convince the CCJ,” he added.
