October 16 could be the day when government and opposition Members of Parliament clash over the unprecedented no-confidence motion against the Donald Ramotar administration which, if passed in the National Assembly, would trigger general elections within 90 days.
Leader of the Alliance For Change (AFC)-the party that filed the motion with the clerk of the National Assembly-Khemraj Ramjattan yesterday told Stabroek News that his party is seeking to have the motion debated on the very first day that the parliamentary session resumes. He pointed out that the current recess comes to an end on October 10th which is on Friday and usually, parliamentary business is dealt with on Thursdays. The first Thursday after the recess will be October 16th.
Speaker of the National Assembly Raphael Trotman had indicated that the no-confidence motion could remain on the agenda for quite some time as there are a number of other important items to be dealt with, of which some like the Telecommunications Bill have been waiting for years.
While agreeing with Trotman, Ramjattan said that the AFC believes that the no-confidence motion should take precedence over all other items as it is of “utmost importance.” He charged that the PPP/C-led administration has committed a number of constitutional violations and should it be allowed to continue, would lead the country into a crisis.
“If it [the PPP/C government] continues to do the nonsense it has been doing, we are going to head into a constitutional crisis,” Ramjattan warned. He said that the government should be stopped in its tracks and according to him, the only way this could be done is by a vote of no-confidence which would force the administration to return to the polls. “The process [the government’s alleged unconstitutional actions] has to be halted and this would be done when the no-confidence (motion) is approved,” he asserted.
The AFC leader also stated that this is how such issues are dealt with in normal, democratic Westminster-style democracies to avoid constitutional crises. “We feel that because of the very serious nature of the no-confidence motion, we propose that it be deliberated (on) and that it be done forthwith,” he added.
To ensure that this is done, Ramjattan explained that the mover of the motion – in this case AFC executive member Moses Nagamootoo – can request that Standing Order 8 of the parliamentary rules be observed which would see the motion being given priority over all other business in the National Assembly.
Once this is done, then the issue would have to be voted on and since APNU has signalled its intention to support the motion, it stands to reason that the opposition would use its one-seat majority to vote in favour of the motion being placed at the top of the agenda. Should this be done, then the Speaker would have no other option than to proceed and allow the motion to be debated.
Number
Ramjattan was asked about the number of speakers who would debate the motion as it is believed that the debate could take days with most, if not all the parliamentarians having a say. However, if the AFC leader has his way, only a few speakers would deal with motion on the very day and by 10pm that day, it would be voted upon.
However, observers have said that it is highly unlikely this would be done.
Making it clear that this is his personal view, Ramjattan said that he would prefer for just a few members to speak on the motion as he pointed out that to allow all parliamentarians to have their say would drag the process out for days and there might be the issue of some parliamentarians falling sick or not turning up for various reasons. “I would prefer for it to be completed quickly…but that would be subjected to what the parties decide,” Ramjattan said.
The AFC and APNU, which together hold a one-seat majority in the National Assembly since the 2011 elections, have both said that they would support the motion and have emphasized that the holding of local government elections or the setting of a date for such elections, would not deflect from or affect passage of the motion of no-confidence.
When the AFC submitted the motion in August, it was believed that government would have likely called snap elections in an effort to avoid the embarrassment of being forced to face a no-confidence motion but Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr Roger Luncheon later dispelled this notion. “We need to dispense with this notion that this administration, to counter the no-confidence motion, would seek to introduce some snap elections. It will not happen,” he had told a press briefing.
Both AFC and APNU declared their united position on the no-confidence motion, and insisted that it is clear and unambiguous, and rebuffed the various “sinister” attempts of the PPP/C to create confusion over the issue and to divert attention from it.
At a recent press briefing, Trotman had said that based on extensive research and advice, he concluded that “the motion as unprecedented as it is, does qualify for debate and it meets the internationally acceptable standard for a motion of this nature.”
He had noted that Guyana is at an important crossroad and he expects that every MP would want to have a say when the Motion is debated. He compared what is likely to happen to a budget debate. “That is their constitutional right…,” he observed.
Trotman had also stressed that Parliament Office is ready to resume and complete the business of the Assembly, which had a full agenda of critical issues. While noting that a number of Bills have been left hanging as a result of the recess, he said that they will be addressed on the resumption of the Assembly.
