Speaker of the National Assembly, Manzoor Nadir, has informed APNU+AFC Parliamentarian and former minister, David Patterson that convening a sitting of Parliament before a public holiday is not unusual and listed several instances to support his claim, thus rejecting the Alliance For Change’s (AFC’s) call for today’s scheduled parliamentary sitting to be pushed back.
In a letter of July 29th addressed to Patterson and seen by this newspaper, the Clerk of the National Assembly, Sherlock Isaacs, stated that he was instructed by the Speaker to inform that the convening of a Sitting before a Public Holiday is not unusual and that there are several precedents in the National Assembly of the Parliament of Guyana, as follows:
1) The 33rd Sitting of the 11th Parliament held on 22nd February, 2016, the day before Republic Day. 2) The 36th Sitting of the 11th Parliament h e l d on 4th May, 2016, the day before Arrival Day. 3) The 63rd Sitting of the 11th Parliament held on 13th April, 2017, the day before Good Friday. 4) The 20th Sitting of the 12th Parliament held on 22nd February, 2021, the day before Republic Day.
It was also pointed out that adequate notice (six clear days) was given to all Members of the National Assembly informing them of the convening of the 84th Sitting July 31st, 2024 and expressed the hope that the “parties will work in unity to finish the business on the Order Paper for the sitting in an efficient manner.”
This letter was in response to the AFC’s letter to the Speaker dated 26th July where concern was raised about the appropriateness of the scheduled date for the Sitting given that Emancipation Day, celebrated on August 1, is a significant national holiday in Guyana.
