Constitutional Reform—you’ve heard this phrase before. Politicians love to use it when they’re out of the office of power and especially during election campaigns.
The Granger Administration promised that this reform would take place should it get elected to office, but it has been more than two years now and there has been no movement on this front. Constitutional Reform has essentially taken a back seat.
And the reason for this is simple. Constitutional Reform, in effect, means that the powers of the President would be diluted.
In this piece, we will examine the brief views of three prominent lawyers and political activists—Mr. Nigel Hughes, Mr. Khemraj Ramjattan and Mr. Raphael Trotman.
Before one ventures further to discuss the powers of the President, Hughes sought to outline firstly that the Constitution is quite clear on where power lies and how it should be exercised by the arms of the State.
He notes that Article 51 of the Constitution points out that supreme power is vested in the Presidency, Parliament and Cabinet. To the unassuming, nothing seems wrong with this arrangement. But Hughes said that there is a great travesty taking place here. The veteran lawyer noted that the President is vested with powers, then he is the head of the Parliament and then, made the head of Cabinet.
Hughes said that in actual fact, whoever becomes President holds power over those important organs. He said that this is worrying, especially when you consider his immunities from suit. Hughes said that one must find it of concern that the only thing that can remove the President of Guyana is ill health, loss of confidence by the House or “grave misconduct.”
In his contribution, Natural Resources Minister and a seasoned Attorney-at-Law, Mr. Raphael Trotman noted that in the 90s, there was an exercise of constitutional reform, but there was a failure to deal with the recommendations for power distribution. He nonetheless agreed that the Constitution is in need of a serious overhaul.
Trotman said that, ultimately, the people of Guyana should have a say where Constitutional Reform is concerned.
Speaking to other powers, Public Security Minister and Attorney-at-Law, Mr. Khemraj Ramjattan notes that the President has a very heavy hand in the selection of the Chancellor and the Chief Justice. Permission must also be sought from the Opposition Leader. Ramjattan noted, however, that the other judges for the court system are appointed by the Judicial Service Commission.
The Lawyer said that this point is crucial, since one really has to consider the powers of the President to appoint the top members of the Judiciary and what kind of influence that translates to.
The Minister of Public Security said that even if the Opposition Leader and the President do not agree on those selected for the posts, the President can still appoint them to act in those posts. Ramjattan said that the spirit of the Constitution never meant for this to occur.
Ramjattan expressed that the Constitution wants consensual appointments. He said that anything else creates an undesirable arrangement. Ramjattan said that reconfiguration is necessary in this regard.