President Donald Ramotar has directed that steps be taken to convene a sitting of the National Assembly within the next 14 days, the Office of the President (OP) announced yesterday.
“Having been apprised of the Leader of the Opposition’s recent statement in the media with regard to talks between himself and the President, there is no longer any benefit to the country for any further delays in convening a sitting of the National Assembly,” a statement from OP said.
The government reiterated that the convening of a sitting of the National Assembly must be done in accordance with the Standing Orders and long-cherished parliamentary practices. The government had a number of pending legislative matters before the House prior to the annual recess. Further, there are important financial papers relating to the development of the country and growth of the economy that need to be urgently addressed, the statement said.
It made no reference to the AFC’s pending no-confidence motion which could see elections being held within three months once the motion is passed.
Earlier yesterday, PPP/C Chief Whip Gail Teixeira had told Stabroek News that government will indicate a date for a sitting of the National Assembly, “certainly in the early part of [this] week.” She declined to reveal what date the government has in mind for the sitting but said that it will be communicating with Clerk of the National Assembly Sherlock Isaacs early this week to indicate its desire for a sitting and for him to convene one.
Since the end of the recess on October 10, the opposition has been pressing for the convening of the National Assembly but government did not set a date and questions have since arisen as to who had the power to call a sitting.
Isaacs had advised Speaker of the National Assembly Raphael Trotman that such power did not reside in the speakership. However, Trotman, after consulting with former speakers, had arrived at the conclusion that sittings could be held based on the Standing Orders and on Monday, he asked Isaacs to convene one. Isaacs, however, refused to do so and Trotman declared a constitutional crisis.
In a statement, Trotman had said he was formally notified by Isaacs that after consideration, his request for the National Assembly to be convened on November 6, cannot be given effect to by the Clerk because he is of the view that the Speaker lacks the authority to convene sittings of the National Assembly under Standing Order 8 (1) and (2).
As a result, Trotman stated that the Clerk’s decision “has the effect of crippling the ability of the Members of Parliament to meet” and “this in itself brings the Constitution into derision and disregard and cannot be what the framers of our Constitution intended.”
Trotman had earlier announced that after consultations with Isaacs and former Speakers Sase Narine and Ralph Ramkarran, he had come to the conclusion that the Standing Orders have already settled the issue of when the National Assembly is to meet when a date is not fixed. At the last sitting before the parliamentary recess, the Assembly was adjourned to “a date to be fixed” and Isaacs has held that Standing Order 8(2) does not authorise the Speaker to call a sitting where there is no fixed date for the next sitting.
Trotman said he was in complete agreement with Isaacs as it relates to Standing Order 8 (2) but noted that it “cannot mean that the National Assembly cannot be convened unless by agreement; especially where such agreement appears elusive to even impossible.”
He said that the “unfortunate position arrived at” by Isaacs is due to a “very narrow interpretation of the Standing Orders and of the prevailing circumstances whereby the National Assembly entered into recess and has emerged from that recess, and a majority of Members desire to meet.”
Observers have noted that the government appears to be stalling the sitting of the House because of the looming AFC no-confidence motion that is yet to be tabled. If passed, the motion would force the government to resign and require the holding of new general elections within three months.
