Parliament

Government on Tuesday appeared to have back-pedaled from its position hours earlier that persons caught with small amounts of marijuana would not be jailed even as steps were being taken to amend the legislation, instead now saying that possession is still an offence until the law is amended. “Possession is still illegal. The Government only proposes to remove custodial sentences ...

The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) on Tuesday ruled that last December’s no-confidence motion was validly passed with a majority of 33 of the 65 seats of the National Assembly. CCJ President, Justice Adrian Saunders said nothing prohibited then government parliamentarian Charrandass Persaud from voting against a measure but he could still be recalled and the vote would still be ...

The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) will next week Tuesday hand down its decision on whether President David Granger’s unilateral appointment of James Patterson to head the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) was constitutional. “The first judgment will determine whether the appointment, or the process followed in the appointment, of Guyana’s Elections Commission Chairman breached the Constitution,” the CCJ said. The ...

The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) has set a tentative date of next week Tuesday for a decision on whether last December’s no-confidence motion was validly passed by Guyana’s National Assembly, lawyers for the parties confirmed. Attorney-at-Law, Sanjeev Datadin, who is representing Charrandass Persaud, and Attorney-at-Law Roysdale Forde, who is  representing Joseph Harmon, told Demerara Waves Online News that June ...

Attorney General, Basil Williams has asked the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) to take new evidence showing that then government parliamentarian, Charrandass Persaud, had known since 2015 that he ought not to have been a candidate because he holds dual citizenship. In court papers seen by Demerara Waves Online News, Williams told the Trinidad-headquartered Court that on May 11, 2019 ...

Guyana’s National Assembly on Thursday approved GYD$3.4 billion for the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to conduct general elections, but Finance Minister Winston Jordan said that has nothing to do with decisions the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) might hand down concerning several election-related cases. “This provision, I want to say today, is not in anticipation of anything that the CCJ ...

Afro-Guyanese on Sunday signaled they would be accelerating lobbying for a return to village councils because the existing local governance system has removed their ownership and direct responsibility for their villages, but the Guyana Reparations Committee said a special law is needed for land rights and local governance. Chairman of the International Decade for People of African Descent Assembly-Guyana (IDPADA-G), ...

Guyana’s Interception of Communications Act was Wednesday amended to pave the way for call centres to legally record calls with customers, Minister of Public Telecommunications Cathy Hughes told the National Assembly. In piloting amendments to the 2008 Act, Hughes said the law currently does not take into account advances in telecommunications technology. She explained that call centres are required to ...

Finance Minister, Winston Jordan on Wednesday asked Parliament to approve GYD$3.4 billion for the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to conduct electoral polls, even as the country awaits a crucial decision on the validity of last December’s no-confidence motion against the ruling APNU+AFC coalition. The supplementary funding request is expected to be debated and passed by the National Assembly next week. ...

Retired Justice James Patterson might be returned as Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), if the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) rules that President David Granger should have given reasons for rejecting Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo’s 18 nominees, Chairman of the Alliance For Change (AFC), Khemraj Ramjattan says. “If the Court rules that the President has to give reasons, ...