We note the announcement by President Ramotar that he has named May 11, 2015 as the date for general elections. We are concerned however that the announcement did not address the status of the Tenth Parliament which was prorogued on November 10, 2014 nor did it comply with the constitutional requirement for the naming of the date of elections.
It is our view that the life of the Tenth Parliament can only come to an end by dissolution and the naming of the date for elections done by way of a proclamation.
Prorogation of the Parliament is done under Article 70 by proclamation and while the Constitution does not expressly so state, it is our opinion that a proclamation is required either to re-convene or to dissolve the Parliament. And in relation to the naming of the date for elections, article 61 of the Constitution explicitly requires a proclamation by the President.
If we can call attention to earlier years and specifically the 2011 elections, there were four proclamations as follows:
27 September: Dissolving Parliament.
27 September: Dissolving the ten Regional Democratic Councils (RDCs).
9 October: Setting 28 November as date for parliamentary elections.
9 October: Setting 28 November as date for election of members of RDCs.
It is our opinion that until similar proclamations are issued the announcement made by the President on Tuesday January 21, naming May 11 as the date for elections has no legal or constitutional effect. As citizens we find it totally unacceptable that the President in his rather extensive address did not discuss the issue of the Tenth Parliament, leaving the country in continuing uncertainty in respect of the Parliament and to his intention to comply with the requirements of the Constitution.
The President needs to remove the uncertainty and take the logical steps which the Constitution requires.
Alissa Trotz
Christopher Ram