Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo said moments ago that he is still open to meeting with President David Granger to discuss judgments handed down recently by the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ). He noted, however, that the issue of elections being held in three months, as articulated in the Constitution, is non-negotiable.
Speaking at his Church Street Office to members of the press, the PPP General Secretary reminded of an invitation that he received for a meeting with President Granger. However, he noted, that this missive stipulated that a date he so chooses for the meeting should occur after today (Monday, June 24), which is when the CCJ was expected to hand down its consequential orders following its judgments that the December 21, 2018 No-Confidence Motion was successfully passed and that Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Chairman Justice (Retired) James Patterson was unconstitutionally appointed.
The CCJ has since asked for written submissions from the opposition, GECOM, and the government and has encouraged discourse for consensus between the APNU+AFC administration and the PPP. Following the submissions, Jagdeo said that the court is expected to hand down consequential orders on July 12.
Considering the new date that was set, Jagdeo said he will have to inquire if the invitation for visit is still valid, that is to say, if President Granger would be opening to meeting after today as his letter indicated or if it would be after the consequential orders are provided by the courts.
Be that as it may, the Opposition Leader reiterated that he is open to having an engagement with the President on the way forward, especially as it relates to the appointment of a new GECOM Chair.
“Other than that, we can only discuss constitutional compliance which involves setting a date for elections,” the PPP General Secretary added.
