The proposal for the speaker of the National Assembly to rotate between A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance For Change (AFC) has been deemed ambiguous and unrealistic by representatives of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C). Presidential Advisor on Governance Gail Teixeira and PPP/C’s Parliamentary representative to the Ministry of Health Joseph Hamilton expressed their views on the issue yesterday during a panel discussion on the National Communications Network (NCN) that was moderated by Michael Gordon.
Hamilton, according to GINA, said that the first speaker must tender a resignation when his/her tenure is up and that the successor can only be installed through the process of an election.
He said it is unclear whether the term of the speaker will be brought to the Parliament through a resolution or vote for ratification and that if it is that the opposition agrees to a term of one year for each speaker it would imply that within five years there would be four rotations, which would mean four elections.
Hamilton told GINA he is in favour of a discourse at a tripartite level which he is confident would bring definitiveness.
Teixeira said that rotating will stymie the business of the National Assembly.
“APNU and AFC in their haste to try to be very counterproductive are really going to harm any effort of really trying to move the business of this country forward,” Teixeira told GINA.
Hamilton also contended that indecisiveness in the opposition camp in selecting a speaker has resulted in the business of the nation being put on hold.
“There is definitiveness on this matter, the parliament has to be convened. The nation cannot forever, wait on Roopnaraine and Ramjattan and Granger and Trotman and their antics”, he argued.
Both said, according to GINA, that the speaker is one who demonstrates impartiality in his pronouncements and demeanour but whose function is to ensure that the government’s legislative agenda is carried out.
“He is not there to block the government but he is there to be fair… give the opposition and everybody a fair hearing and to make rulings that are fair,” Teixeira said, using the former speaker Ralph Ramkarran as a model example.
Shortly after the announcement of the elections results the leaders of the Parties in Parliament, at an invitation of President Donald Ramotar, met at the office of the President for discussions and the selection of the speaker was chief among them.
Teixeira said that during the discussion, Ramotar had proposed Ramkarran for re-election to the speaker along with a list of requirements while the opposition parties named their representatives. The parties then agreed to a subsequent meeting where the list of nominees would be reviewed. That meeting was never held.
“You have APNU and AFC trying to divvy up parliament as if it is their property, ignoring the fact that the PPP got the majority of the votes… so it appears as if APNU, AFC want to come to the PPP government… and say take it or leave it. It flies in the face of any notion that they portrayed to the electorate prior to the elections and during the campaign that this is about national unity and partnership,” Teixeira argued.
