On the eve of today’s National Assembly sitting where disciplinary action is likely against APNU+AFC members for raucous behaviour on December 29th , the opposition coalition served notice of a motion of no confidence against Speaker of the National Assembly Manzoor Nadir and another to send 22 members on the government’s side to the Privileges Committee for “unparliamentarily conduct”.
“Loss of confidence in Mr. Manzoor Nadir as Speaker of the National Assembly,” a release from APNU+AFC last evening was headlined as the coalition informed that it had sent a motion of no-confidence against the Speaker of the House to Clerk of the National Assembly Sherlock Isaacs yesterday.
“Motion to Refer the Issue of the Unparliamentarily Conduct of Members of the National Assembly to the Privileges Commit-tee,” the heading of the other release and attachment stated.
Both motions were submitted in the names of Leader of the Opposition Joe Harmon and the Chief Whip for the opposition, Christopher Jones.
The Speaker told Stabroek News yesterday that he had not yet seen the press releases and motions.
Nadir posited that while he does not speak on the affairs of the House outside of that setting, “it is the right of every parliamentary member to move a motion.”
However, he said that there is a process for such actions and he has asked that Parliament Office issue notices through advertisements, “To inform and educate everyone on the process of dealing with questions and motions.”
The motion when it is moved would require at least 33 votes for passage. The PPP has 33 seats, APNU+AFC 31 and the list joinder comprising three parties has the final seat.
The motion to remove the Speaker contends that Nadir was biased in his actions not only on the date of sitting mentioned but at other times.
The recital to the motion said “by his actions, both past and on December 29, 2021, the Speaker has demonstrated partiality and brought the Office of the Speaker into disrepute and public ridicule and the National Assembly into public odium, as from the inception of his tenure, the Speaker has routinely shown bias against the Opposition and its Members by, inter alia, refusing to allow debates on matters of an urgent, definite and public nature, such as the Sars-Covid-19 global pandemic; the nation-wide floods of 2021; striking down, refusing debate and unjustly amending opposition questions and motions; failing to protect Opposition Members, especially female Members, from the insults, invectives and abuses of Members of the Government side; failing and refusing to offer protection to a Member of the Opposition who was physically assaulted by a Government Minister and ordering the “lock out” of elected Members of the National Assembly from the Chamber, just to name a few”.
The motion’s resolve clause calls for the “National Assembly to declare its loss of confidence in Mr. Manzoor Nadir as Speaker of the National Assembly”.
Giving the party’s version of events on the 29th of December where it defended the attempt to seize the speaker’s mace, the motion said that both before and after the Minister of Finance started to speak, members of the Opposition “objected vehemently to the second reading and debate, and stood to gain the Speaker’s attention”. However, the party contends that Nadir “failed and/or refused to acknowledge the Members standing, and instead, encouraged the Minister to proceed and thereby purported to allow the debate on the second reading of the Bill to proceed; AND WHEREAS thereafter Members of the Opposition left their places and entered into the well of the Assembly and began making loud noises of protest to obstruct and prevent the purported debate from proceeding… Members of the Government also left their seats and entered into the well of the Assembly to ostensibly encourage the Minister of Finance to proceed.”
It added, “AND WHEREAS a scene of chaos erupted in the National Assembly whereby there was noise and all members were on their feet and the Speaker inexplicably, purported to allow the debate to proceed … Members of the Opposition were compelled to remove the mace from the [dais]; believing that this would halt all proceedings.”
Nadir has addressed criticisms from the PNCR that he was biased as unjustified and without merit. “I wish to state, that as Speaker of the National Assembly, I have always conducted the business of the House in keeping with the Standing Orders of the Parliament of Guyana and other Parliamentary
Procedures and Practices of the Commonwealth,” he had said.
“Persons who are not familiar with Parliamentary Rules of Procedure would interpret the way I have been approving and disapproving questions and motions, and my rulings on certain matters, would claim that I am biased,” he added.
The Speaker had warned that disciplinary action would come after a group of MPs charged at the Speaker’s ceremonial Mace on December 29th resulting in a tussle with parliamentary security and the parliamentarians. APNU+AFC parliamentarian Annette Ferguson had fallen in an attempt to grab the mace. The incident occurred as Finance Minister Singh had begun his presentation on the Bill. Eventually, the Opposition MPs, blaring whistles, placards and chanting loudly were unable to derail the passage of the controversial piece of legislation.
“It must be noted that the gross disorderly conduct of some of the members during the last Sitting of the National Assembly will not be condoned. Further, it is my duty as Speaker of the National Assembly to ensure that the business of the National Assembly is conducted in a fair, transparent, and orderly manner and this I will do until the end of my tenure”, Nadir had said of the matter.
Meanwhile, the APNU+AFC also wants 22 members on the PPP/C benches to be disciplined by the Privileges Committee of the National Assembly.
The party in giving its version of events admitted that both sides participated in the raucous behaviour.
“… during the sitting of the Parliament of Guyana, Members of the Opposition and Government ended up in a physical, loud and aggressive “face off” in the well of the National Assembly.”
But it said that it was members of the Government side who “engaged in and used abusive and threatening language and behaviour towards Members of the Opposition and that this conduct and behaviour was unparliamentary to say the least and violative of the privileges accorded to a member of this National Assembly.”
“AND WHEREAS by their conduct, Members of the Government side have brought the Parliament of Guyana and this National Assembly into disrepute and invited public odium into the affairs of the Assembly… it is the belief of this National Assembly that Members of the Government side should be referred to the Committee of Privileges where their conduct and behaviour will be examined and appropriate sanctions recommended where appropriate”, the proposed motion states.
The members named are Prime Minister Mark Phillips, Anil Nandlall, Nigel Dharamlall, Gail Teixeira, Kwame McKoy, Anand Persaud, Susan Rodrigues, Jennifer Westford, Zulifkar Mustapha, Sanjeev Datadin, Robeson Benn, Hugh Todd, Faizal Jafarally, Juan Edghill, Sheila Veerasammy, Vickram Bharrat Joseph Hamilton, Alister Charlie, Charles Ramson, Deodat Indar, Collin Croal and Vindhya Persaud.
The motion made no reference to the racial abuse heaped by APNU+AFC MPs on a parliamentary staffer on December 29th.
