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Speaker mulls allowing Citizens the “right of reply” in Parliament
By Zena Henry
Regular citizens may soon have a voice in the National Assembly as Speaker of the House, Raphael Trotman, at a recently held parliamentary meeting, promised to consider granting ordinary persons the “right of reply”.
This implementation, the Speaker said, will provide for citizens to get a fair chance at defending themselves against immunity-covered parliamentarians who may seek to tarnish the character of others.
The Speaker mentioned that it was thanks to a document provided by Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee that his attention was drawn to a ruling coming out of the House of Parliament Trinidad, where an ordinary citizen was granted that “right of reply” on a matter that pertained to him, and further posed a threat to his character.
The particular topic came up in Parliament when sparks flew between Education Minister Priya Manickchand and A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) shadow Minster of Education Amna Ally on April 16 during the debate on the 2012 National Budget.
Minister Manickchand had snapped at the APNU representative when she spoke indirectly about a former Chief Education Officer who was described as “unqualified” and “incapable”. Although no name was mentioned, according to Manickchand, it was quite clear who Ally was referring to. In Manickchand’s address to the house, she mentioned the person’s name while praising them for their contribution to Guyanese education.
She denounced the habit of defamatory statements made against persons by Parliamentarians.
Out of that confrontation, a point of order was called to clarify the statements of Amna Ally. Apart from that, heated arguments continued over the issue, forcing the Speaker to adjourn the session for a short break.
Parliamentarians, once in the House, are permitted the right to speak on any issue and any person without fear of being prosecuted. It is however encouraged that House members do not use their privilege to tarnish or make false accusations against others.
In this light, Trotman revealed that on April 4 in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, House Speaker Wade Mark allowed a statement to be read by Clerk of the House, which represented a response of a public figure whom statements were made against.
Raphael Trotman
In his ruling, the Trinidadian Speaker mentioned that he had researched the matter of a public reply and found that a 1999 report of the Committee of Privileges of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom stated that there is no point in immunity privilege unless it provides for guarantees against attempts of outside control of what House members chose to say. He however mentioned that privilege carries with it responsibility, which has to be exercised not only within the rules of the House but in conformity with the standards expected of its members.
The statement continued that irresponsible or reckless use of power and privilege could be prejudicial to national interest, injure persons who have no recourse within the House and tarnish the dignity of all honourable Members as well as the House itself.
The Trinidadian Speaker further proposed to adopt the practice of the UK House of Commons and urged Members of the House to take steps before making potentially damaging accusations against named individuals.
The Trinidadian Speaker further allowed the non-member’s response to be recorded in Parliamentarian files, but made it clear that it was not his intention to make citizen responses crystallize into the settled practice in the House.
Education Minister Manickchand welcomed Trotman’s idea. She rejected what she described as the shameless and low down acts of House members and claimed that it was time the culprits of such acts remove themselves from under the cloak of immunity.
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