Manufacturers urge ‘full respect’ for Court of Appeal decision on No Confidence vote

The Guyana Manufacturing & Services Association (GM&SA) has added to calls for “full respect” of the decision by the Court of Appeal, which ruled by majority vote that the December 21 No Confidence motion was not validly passed.

“Our Association urges all Guyanese, especially those persons in the Business Community to continue to conduct their daily affairs in an atmosphere of peace, harmony and tranquillity which is generally supportive of all business endeavours,” GM&SA stated Thursday.

Two of three Court of Appeal Judges Friday overturned an earlier ruling by the High Court which validated the passage of the No Confidence motion, which demanded new general elections by March 21.

Justices Dawn Gregory and Yonette Cummings-Edwards ruled that 33 votes did not represent an absolute majority in the 65-seat legislature, and so the motion was not passed. They reasoned that half of 65 is 32.5 and when that figured is rounded up, half of the House would properly be 33, and therefore one more was needed for there to be an absolute majority and for the motion to be passed.

The Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo has moved to the CCJ to appeal the Court of Appeal decision.

The GMSA said it hoped “the final outcome in this particular difficult period of our political history would offer appropriate solutions to our quest for economic and social development of benefit to the Guyanese people.”