The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) on Tuesday ruled that two-term presidential term limits in Guyana must remain intact in keeping with a 2001 constitutional amendment, overturning decisions by the High Court and the Court of Appeal.
Delivering the judgement, outgoing CCJ President Justice Denis Byron said at the end a more than 30 minute summary that “the appeal is allowed. The orders of the Courts below are set aside. Section 2 of the Constitution Amendment Number 4 Act of 2000, also referred to as Act Number 17 of 2000 in the Court of Appeal and Act Number 17 2001 in the High Court, is a a constitutional amendment to Article 19 of the Constitution of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, having been validly enacted,” he said.
The applicant, Cedric Richardson, had said that his right to choose whomsoever he wants to be president diluted and automatically disqualified Bharrat Jagdeo who had previously served two terms as President.
At the core of Richardson’s argument was that Guyana’s Constitution could not have been amended in 2001 by Parliament to provide for presidential term limits. He had contended that the relevant Articles could have been amended only by a referendum, a position that had been upheld by then Chief Justice, Ian Chang. He had ruled that the amendment of Article 90 of Guyana’s Constitution by way of Act 17 of 2001 infringed on Articles 1 and 9 of the said constitution.
Chang’s ruling was also upheld by then Chancellor of the Judiciary, Carl Singh and then Appellate Court Judge, B.S. Roy, with the dissenting judge having been then acting Chancellor, Yonette Cummings-Edwards.
It is believed in some circles that the little or unknown Richardson is Jagdeo’s surrogate whose name had risen somewhat prominently as the ‘face’ of the challenge because the former Guyanese leader who was elected in 2001 and 2006 wants to contest the 2020 polls. Ahead of Tuesday’s ruling, Jagdeo said despite the outcome of the ruling he would remain General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party and would be part of the next government should his party win the next general elections.
During the March 12, 2018 hearing by the Trinidad-based final appellate court, CCJ President Denis Byron had asked Attorney General, Basil Williams and Richardson’s lawyer s to compile and submit documents to the Court about the origin of the presidential term limit amendment that dates back to political unrest in 1997, the role of a Caribbean Community (CARICOM) mediation team and the signing of a peace pact between the People’s Progressive Party Civic and the then opposition People’s National Congress in 1998 named the Herdmanston Accord, that had provided for constitutional reform after broad-based national consultations.
