Coalition supporters are seemingly at ease that former President David Granger has declined the invitation from President Irfaan Ali. Social media and other fora were lit up with comments critical of the invitation and urging Mr. Granger to reject same. I too am glad that he did not accept same under the circumstances in which they were made. My greatest concern surrounding this invitation however, rests in what is seen as the continued effort by the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) administration to act in ways contrary to the tenets of good governance, in furtherance of their undermining of the state apparatus, under a highly questionable and controversial election.
We must be equally opposed to a de facto Leader of the Opposition as we are opposed to a de facto President. The binding power rests in the constitutional offices of President and Leader of the Opposition. Past presidents have no presidential constitutional power. The reality of this situation, though not addressed by Mr. Granger in his response, is of utmost importance. President Ali must not, with or without the support of foreign interest, be allowed to further circumvent the smooth functioning of the constitutional office of the Leader of the Opposition. Mr. Granger must uphold this and must so demand of President Ali and the international community. This is not simply about an agenda, though one recognises the importance of an agenda being agreed to for any political engagement between the two major parties.
It must not also bypass our understanding that the invitation appears to coincide with the European Union release of G$19.8 billion Budgetary Support with conditionalities for inclusive and sustainable development of the country. As a result, the pertinent question given the nature of the invitation is whether or not Alli is genuinely committed to include and work with the Opposition and other stakeholders to move Guyana forward. The evidence does not point in that direction given the fact that the Constitution of Guyana recognises the role of the Leader of the Opposition, a position that Ali is clearly demonstrating he will not countenance; that he will bypass to form an association of former presidents, or better yet, provide an opportunity for others to usurp constitutional role and responsibility.
Guyanese must also remember that Mr. Granger, whether by choice or due to pressure from disappointed and demanding supporters, chose to step aside from the leading opposition position. It is a bad protocol and precedent for the Leader of the Coalition and People’s National Congress Reform to allow the PPP/C to bypass, or even believe he would facilitate any such attempt to bypass the Office of the Leader of the Opposition and engage him as former president on development ideas. In responding, Mr. Granger made a “…recommendation that the meeting be deferred until several important issues [are] satisfactorily settled.”
A functioning and respected Office of the Leader of the Opposition is paramount to democracy and has vested in it legal ramifications quite unlike any meeting and discussion with the former President. Guyanese and the international community must not be duped by the façade of inclusion via meetings with four PPP/C presidents and one Coalition president. Mr. Granger must be wiser about the PPP/C efforts to present an alternate reality whilst they do further damage to Guyana’s institutions and constitutional offices which give meaning to our political and representative system of democracy.
The response by Ms. Gail Teixeira should be of further concern as she seems to somehow find it convenient to link their facilitating Mr. Granger’s overseas medical treatment to a conversation about an invitation. The relevance and suggestion of this gives the subtle hint of a Damocles sword reminding him of some special arrangement from which he benefits other than from entitlement. Such comments are sinister and even if agreed to cannot supersede the role of the Leader of the Opposition in Guyana’s development.
Mr. Granger must demand that President Ali honour and uphold the Constitution of Guyana by engaging Mr. Joseph Harmon, who holds the constitutional office as Leader of the Opposition. The Guyana old boys club or former presidential association can meet anytime, over dinner or else to wine and dine. It is not our current imperative in this global pandemic and rising numbers of infections and deaths in Guyana. Those members of the international community that still believe in the power of democracy must not be party to or supportive of this farce.
