AFC had accepted 33 as majority in 2014 - Ram
When the AFC submitted a no-confidence motion against the Donald Ramotar government in 2014, the party had calculated that 33 votes in the 65-member National Assembly would be needed for the motion to succeed, according to political commentator Christopher Ram.
Labelling as “illogical” and “dangerous,” a view articulated by attorney Nigel Hughes - a former chairman of the AFC - that 34 votes were needed for the December 21 no-confidence motion against the David Granger administration to be successful, Ram has called on the AFC to reaffirm its acceptance of the results.
Two Fridays ago, former parliamentarian Charrandas Persaud defected from the government benches and supported the PPP/C-sponsored no-confidence motion thus handing the Opposition 33 votes for, as opposed to the APNU+AFC government’s 32 votes against, the motion. While the government initially accepted the results, there is growing debate about the validity of the vote and it is now exploring its legal options.
In a letter published in the Stabroek News yesterday, Ram was critical of Hughes for his stance and said that article 106 (6) Constitution is clear that “The Cabinet including the President shall resign if the Government is defeated by the vote of a majority of all the elected members of the National Assembly on a vote of confidence.”
He said that there are rules of interpretation of all statutes, of which the Constitution sits at the pinnacle. One foundational rule states that “the only safe and correct way of construing statutes is to apply the plain meaning of the words,” Ram wrote, adding that Hughes is “too clever” a lawyer for the plain meaning of Article 106 (6) to escape him.
Ram recalled that Hughes was the Chairman of the AFC when it brought a no-confidence motion against the Ramotar government in 2014. “I know about the AFC’s calculation of the 33-32 because then Party Leader Khemraj Ramjattan discussed the matter with me extensively prior to the actual motion being brought,” he wrote.
According to Ram, Hughes’ efforts are likely to be counterproductive to the APNU+AFC in the long run.
“To restore any decency, the leadership of the AFC must now emphatically reaffirm its position that it accepts the vote on the no-confidence motion as a done deal to prevent the discord and confusion engendered by the crusade of its former Chairman,” he said.
After the AFC filed its no-confidence motion on August 7, 2014, Ramotar chose not to face it and instead suspended the National Assembly. After coming under heavy criticism, elections were held in May 2015 which brought the APNU+AFC government to power.
The Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara) Regional Executive Officer, Denis Jaikaran, is to be reassigned to Region Two with effect from January 1, 2019, while the sitting Deputy Regional Executive Officer, Jennifer Ferreira-Dougall, will be promoted to REO of the region.
According to a Department of Public Information (DPI) press release, this announcement was formally made on Wednesday by Regional Chairman Julius Faerber at the statutory meeting of the Regional Democratic Council of Region Three. Faerber said that the decision was formally communicated to him by the Office of the Minister of Communities and signed by the Minister of Communities, Ronald Bulkan, the DPI release added.
Councillors from the various political parties congratulated REO Jaikaran for doing an excellent job over the three years he spent in the region.
Speaking from the government side, Lead Councillor Kathleen Armstrong was quoted as saying, “During your stay here I have learnt a lot from you and you have indeed set the bar very high with your remarkable achievements in this region. You have indeed moved this region from one extremity to another and it was all for the benefit of our region. We wish you well as you take your skills to another part of our country.” She also noted that he laid a solid foundation upon which DREO Ferreira-Dougall can now continue to build.
Representing the opposition’s side, Vice Chairman Sheik Ayube was quoted as saying, “… we realised that we had to work with each other for the betterment of this region. I respect him for realising that bringing the good life to the people of Region Three had nothing to do with who is PNC and who is PPP. This man has done work for all communities in this region and has done an exceptional job. We will miss him on this side of the house and I hope we can enjoy a similar relationship with the incoming REO. We welcome the new REO and look forward to working with her and I believe she is the first female in history that will hold the REO office so I personally wish her well.”
Many other councillors expressed similar words of gratitude for the excellent work done by REO Jaikaran in Region Three including AFC member Harry Deokinanan who congratulated the REO and wished him well while acknowledging the improvements he brought to the region.
The Regional Chairman thanked the outgoing REO for his service to the region and its people and welcomed the new REO.
Questions were raised in 2017 as to how FerreiraDougall, 63, came to be appointed as the Deputy Regional Executive Officer of Region Three. There had been concerns that Ferreira-Dougall, a former PNC Member of parliament got the post without advertisements being placed.