Guyana's opposition to boycott parliament

Guyana's presidential elections drama has taken several new twists.

The country's appeals court ruled that a no-confidence motion in December was not validly passed - a decision that the opposition PPP party intends to challenge in the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ).

And while an appeal is pending, the PPP will boycott parliamentary sittings, local paper Stabroek News reported PPP leader Bharrat Jagdeo as saying.

The developments are the latest in a string of events that started in December, when the government lost a no-confidence vote. By law, elections were meant to have been held by March 20 but were postponed after the electoral commission said it could not hit that deadline.

Guyana's appeals court ruled 2-1 in favor of establishing that, under the constitution, 34 votes (an absolute majority) in favor of a non-confidence motion, instead of the 33 cast, were required.

Minister of foreign affairs Carl Greenidge said in a statement posted by state news agency DPI: "The Government is pleased with the decision as it settles matters which have been discussed ad nauseum for several months and which had led to some level of uncertainty in the society. The majority decision establishes that the Coalition Government is legal and lawful, and constitutionally remains in office without hindrance or let.

"I now appeal to all Guyanese to respect the ruling of the Court of Appeal. And should there be additional legal challenges at the level at the Caribbean Court of Justice we should remain calm in awaiting the outcome of that process as well."

CCJ is a court of final appeal for both civil and criminal cases that begin in courts within the jurisdictions of the 15 member states of the Caricom group of nations.

Presidential elections are planned for 2020.

Guyana, which has fewer than 800,000 inhabitants and a GDP of around US$3.6bn has struck oil, and US major ExxonMobil holds an operator license. Oil production is due to start next year.

The IMF expects oil revenue to account for 2.6% of GDP in 2020 and 4.6% in 2021, which would be the first full year of output. The multilateral expects the share to peak at around 40% in 2021-22.

According to global non-profit the Natural Resource Governance Institute, revenue could spike at US$800mn around 2024 under a baseline revenue scenario.

Pictured: Bharrat Jagdeo in 2010, when he was president of Guyana.