President Dr Irfaan Ali has announced his intention to meet with the newly elected Opposition Leader, Aubrey Norton within a fortnight.
His disclosure comes against the backdrop of several pending constitutional actions that require consultation between the President and the Opposition Leader, including the resuscitation of several defunct service commissions, the appointment of a substantive Police Commissioner, and the confirmation of top judicial posts currently being manned by acting appointees.
Following the March 2020 General and Region Elections, the Opposition, the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) refused to acknowledge the Ali-led regime as legitimate.
The charge was led by former Opposition Leader, Joseph Harmon, who resigned following pressure from party colleagues after his loss at the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR)’s internal elections last year. The PNCR is the largest party within the APNU+AFC bloc. The government, in turn, cut channels for dialogue with the main opposition, saying it will not speak with a party that does not recognise its validity, thus resulting in two years of deadlock.
While Ali’s disclosure could suppress clamour for the fulfilment of constitutional requirements, Norton appears displeased that the president would arbitrarily decide to fix the time for the meeting(s).
During a press conference this morning, Norton, who said he is yet to receive an invite, noted: “While I’m disposed to the meeting, the President must recognise that both of us have things to do, and it has to be on a mutually-agreed date and time. So, I don’t think the President can just – in two weeks, regardless of the Coalition agenda, just decide on when we will meet. It has to be mutually agreed upon”.
Norton expressed hope that discussions would also extend beyond the constitutional matters in his response to a hypothetical question about the President restricting the agenda.
“As representatives of the people in the National Assembly. We’re expected as a party and me and the Leader of the Opposition, to represent all the concerns of the people of Guyana. And therefore, while the Constitution puts some clear obligations, the fact that we are elected representatives, that fact means that we have to deal with the other critical issues that affect the people of Guyana. So, I think that the agenda will have to include the issues that are of concern to both the government and the Opposition,” he said.
