Politics

As legal and procedural uncertainty surrounds whether the opposition People’s Progressive Party (PPP)-sponsored no-confidence motion was passed, a Norwegian Political Scientist is the latest expert to point out that the motion secured 33 votes – an “absolute majority” of the 65 seats in the House. Attorney General Basil Williams has said that regardless of the House Speaker, Dr. Barton Scotland’s ...

President David Granger greeted 2019 with a pledge to work with the opposition People’s Progressive Party (PPP) and its Leader Bharrat Jagdeo has gone as far as remarking that the two sides might unite to run Guyana. “Recent developments in the National Assembly have created opportunities for enhanced political cooperation. Meetings between the government and opposition will take place in ...

Attorney General Basil Williams on Monday insisted that all percentages of parliamentary votes must be rounded up, in stark contrast to what experts in the United States and Norway have stated. He also believes that challenging the 33 to 32 vote in favour of the opposition-sponsored no-confidence motion on the constitutional grounds that then government parliamentarian Charrandas Persaud is a ...

Less than two weeks after voting in favour of a People’s Progressive Party (PPP)-sponsored no-confidence motion, then government parliamentarian Charrandass Persaud stopped short of saying that he was now backing the country’s opposition party. In an interaction with a pandit (a Hindu priest) before Hindu congregants in North America, he called on overseas-based PPP supporters to encourage their families and ...

Attorney General Basil Williams has interpreted Guyana’s constitution as stating that an “absolute majority” of 34 votes are required to successfully pass a no-confidence motion against the Guyana Government. “The Constitutional requirement for voting on a motion of no-confidence is distinct from voting on the passage of legislation and ordinary motions in Parliament. The framers of the Constitution by requiring ...

Former Amerindian Affairs Minister Vibert De Souza died on Saturday two days shy of his 74th birthday, following a prolonged heart condition, his brother said. De Souza collapsed at about 6 p.m. at his Eccles, East Bank Demerara residence where he lived with his wife and daughter. His brother Marco said he last saw his brother on December 23 when ...

The Guyana Government on Saturday appeared set to challenge the outcome of the no-confidence vote on several grounds, official sources said. Citing a number of legal authorities, an opinion prepared for the government states that a no-confidence motion can be passed by only a minimum of 34 votes or 50 percent of the House plus one. That is because according ...

The People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), the major partner in the governing coalition, on Friday admitted that it had failed to aggressively go after information that had been circulating that one of its lawmakers would have voted for the opposition-sponsored no-confidence motion that could see fresh general elections by March next year. PNCR Central Executive Member Aubrey Norton indicated that ...

Executive member of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR),  Aubrey Norton on Friday claimed that former government parliamentarian, Charrandass Persaud was bribed to vote in favour of an opposition-sponsored no-confidence motion, but he did not provide any evidence to back up his claim. Demerara Waves unreservedly withdraws any suggestion that Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo was involved in bribery as there ...

The Private Sector Commission (PSC) and the Roman Catholic Church on Thursday welcomed the decision by Guyana’s top political leaders to accept the vote on the no-confidence motion that saw government being defeated. While the PSC was more direct in saying the next step should be general elections following the confidence vote, the Roman Catholic Church was cautious in saying ...