With the President giving an undertaking to “discuss the issues raised” in the Opposition Leader’s letter to him, the meeting between the two is set for tomorrow morning at the President’s Office.

In a statement this evening, Mr. Jagdeo said that while he shares the misgivings of many that nothing positive will come out of the meeting, he has decided to make “one last attempt to avert a constitutional crisis” and meet the President.

According to Jagdeo, “having been approached by many Guyanese, civil society bodies and members of the diplomatic corps to make one last attempt to avert the constitutional crisis that the President, with a complicit GECOM, is leading our nation into, the Leader of the Opposition is prepared to make one more good-faith attempt in the interest of the nation, and, will attend the meeting”.

He said the meeting will be the last attempt by the Parliamentary Opposition to offer the government a way out of the constitutional crisis and to keep Guyana in the democratic fold of nations.

He said if the meeting fails, the true nature of the government will be seen by all those who urged the Opposition Leader to meet.

“Tomorrow will be a test of the integrity, credibility and sincerity of the President; he will be tested as to whether he can be trusted “as a man of his word” to put our nation, its future and its people first on a foundation of constitutional and parliamentary democracy. This will be a test as to whether the constitution or ‘power lust’ wins out” Jagdeo stated.

In a letter to the President, through the State Minister on Monday, Mr. Jagdeo responded to the President’s invitation to meet by rolling out a wishlist of proposals he wanted agreement on before any meeting.

There has been no agreement, but Jagdeo has decided to go ahead with the meeting.

The meeting comes as there is uncertainty over a date for elections. The Opposition Leader has said he would be willing to support an extension in the date for elections if the elections will be held before April 30, 2019.

The Elections Commission has already said the earliest date by which it could host elections would be sometime in July.

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