Guyana to return to the polls by March after no-confidence vote topples gov’t

GOVERNMENT BACKBENCHER Charandass Persaud told reporters his conscience had been “stifled for long” as he defended his decision to vote with the opposition People’s Progressive Party (PPP) and topple the threeyear-old coalition government of President David Granger late last Friday night.

The coalition, Partnership for National Unity (APNU), commanded just a one-seat majority in the 65-member National Assembly and Persaud’s vote was crucial.

He told reporters that he had not been offered any money or position by the opposition to vote against the coalition government.

Persaud, who some reports have indicated has since fled the country, said he would offer his resignation to the Parliament and the Alliance for Change (AFC), a partner in the coalition government, and that he would not be returning to the House as a member of parliament for the AFC.

The vote means that elections will have to be held by March next year even though Granger still has nearly two years left in his constitutional term.

The country is also about a year away from becoming an oil producer.

ESCORTED FROM CHAMBER

Clearly stunned by the development, government legislators openly persuaded Persaud to vote with the combined APNUAFC coalition, which holds 33 seats in the country’s National Assembly to the PPP’s 32.

He stubbornly refused, saying: “Yes, yes, yes,” when asked if he was siding with the opposition. He was escorted out of the chamber by police and allowed to leave through a back entrance after voting.

Opposition leader and former President Bharrat Jagdeo said Persaud might have been impacted by the layoff of about 7,000 sugar workers from the area where he lives and practises as an attorney.

Moses Nagamootoo, who is prime minister and head of the assembly, said that there may be outcomes “which have not been anticipated, but the outcome has to be accepted”.

Nagamootoo said the government wanted supporters to know that the coalition would make another run in fresh elections. “This is not the end,” he said.

AP In this September 28, 2015 file photo, Guyana’s President David A. Granger delivers remarks during a press briefing at the United Nations headquarters. A lawmaker from the ruling coalition in Guyana voted with the opposition for a no-confidence motion late last Friday, bringing down the administration of Granger and forcing fresh elections by March.