More than six weeks after the 12th June Local Government Elections (LGE) the newly elected mayors and deputy mayors have not yet taken their oath of office before the President. President Irfaan Ali is expected to swear in these persons next Monday, 7th August.
The Municipal and District Councils Act, Cap 28:01, Section 18 ‘Oath of Office’ stipulates: “The Mayor and the Deputy Mayor shall, before performing any of the functions of their respective offices, take before the President an oath of office in form set out in the Second Schedule.”
The Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC), in a blistering statement carried in this publication on 25th July, called on President Irfaan Ali to honour the Laws of Guyana, and in this specific case, the Municipal and District Councils Act, Cap 28:01.
According to the GTUC, “it is a shame, disgrace and violation that so many weeks after the LGE….and results declared by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), that the mayors and deputy mayors, who were elected, have not yet been sworn in and therefore cannot legally function.”
The Union’s General Secretary, Mr. Lincoln Lewis, told this publication President Ali has no excuse for not discharging his responsibility under the law and he must find time on his schedule to fix the anomaly.
Georgetown Mayor Pt Ubraj Narine made a similar call for the mayors and deputies to be sworn in. On 25th July this publication carried a story where the mayor called “on the government to hasten the appointments of mayor and deputy mayor [in the Georgetown Municipality] as the people have spoken and have outright rejected the PPP.”
Village Voice News also reached out to Opposition Shadow Minister of Legal Affairs and People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) member, senior counsel Roysdale Forde for comment regarding the President’s laxity in upholding the law.
Forde told this publication Guyana is in uncharted waters, and whilst it is not too late to have the president’s lapse in judgment corrected, the right thing was to have these mayors and deputy mayors sworn in earlier.
“There is no excuse for waiting this long to do what is required by law and ought to have been expedited in a timely manner.”
The Member of Parliament (MP) said he noted the words and concerns expressed by GTUC, Lewis and Narine, and whilst he speaks not on behalf of the PNCR, but on his own behalf, as a citizen and officer of the court, he is “sure the President, Leader of the Opposition and all elected officials would have noted these concerns.”
According to the senior counsel, he believes the public calls to action have not only drawn attention to the non-compliance with the law but have forced the president to act.
He said “what has become more evident is that we cannot lapse with the PPP. We have to keep all eyes on what they say and don’t say, what they do and don’t do. I dare to say, the delay is not being done by accident but is a willful act orchestrated by the Ali regime who is not satisfied with the electoral results with the major towns remaining under the control of the A Partnership of National Unity [APNU].”
After all the bragging, boasting, financing and all the investments made by the PPP, the APNU was able to capture deputy and mayoral functions in these towns, Forde pointed out.
Going further, the MP stated the promise by the president to have the swearing in next Monday, should not be cause for comfort or complacency. “Knowing the PPP, they cannot be trusted, and they don’t take losing with grace. Citizens must remain vigilant to ensure the choices made by them in the elections are not undermined by the PPP during the term of the newly elected councillors.”
This is the first time the swearing in of these officeholders has taken this long.
