Earliest date for Elections is March 2, 2020

President David Granger has announced that the earliest date for the holding of General and Regional Elections is March 2, 2020. Though it has been reported in other sections of the media that that date is Elections day, it should be noted that the President’s statement did not explicitly name a date. It only said that that date is the earliest possible one. His announcement came after discussions with his Cabinet of Ministers and Chair of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), (ret’d) Justice Claudette Singh SC The President had been advised by Singh on September 19 last that GECOM will be ready to hold elections by the end of February, 2020, after weeks of back-and-forth discussions at the level of the Commission on a comprehensive work-plan.

After receiving the advice, the President had met with several Cabinet Ministers on the very day, and his full Cabinet on Tuesday last. He said that the Ministers were guided by the advice of Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams. The President said that he also met with Justice Singh again, Wednesday, and they discussed the statutory timelines for the upcoming elections.

The President stated that the extension of a period beyond three months of the Constitutional deadline as provided for in the nation’s Supreme Law, is related to the readiness of GECOM. Hence, he has declared that the Government must return to the National Assembly, “as a consequence”, to request an extension of that deadline. During a press conference last week, the Alliance for Change (AFC) had called on the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) to grant the extension when the National Assembly reconvenes, or risk frustrating the Constitution.

The extension requires twothirds of all the votes of the Members of Parliament. Such a motion would only pass if the PPP supports it. The Parliamentary Opposition had held a press conference shortly after the AFC’s request, at the Office of the Leader of the Opposition, where Chief Whip Gail Teixeira said that there is no Parliament because she contends that the Government is illegal.

The President told members of the media early yesterday that Government would also seek to return to Parliament if it finds that GECOM is in need of additional funds to prepare for elections. Kaieteur News understands that the expedition of several preparatory activities by the Secretariat requires additional funds, but it is unlikely that GECOM will need that, as iterated by Commissioner Charles Corbin. The National Assembly reconvenes on October 10, 2019. (Kaiteur News)