Latest update February 5th, 2025 11:03 AM
Date for sitting of Nat’l Assembly… Speaker will soon propose solution if no consensus
House Speaker, Raphael Trotman
While Government’s chief whip, Gail Teixeira, is yet to contact the Opposition’s whip, Amna Ally, on a date for the sitting of the National Assembly, House Speaker, Raphael Trotman has disclosed that if they cannot reach consensus as soon as possible, then he will soon propose a solution to safeguard constitutional democracy.
Trotman told this newspaper that in view of the ongoing controversy surrounding the methodology to be used for the convening of the National Assembly following the annual recess that ran from August 10 to October 10, and running concurrently with efforts being undertaken by the Whips of Parliament to agree on a date, he has taken a few steps of his own.
These included holding discussions and officially seeking the opinions from the Clerk of the National Assembly, former Speakers and Senior Counsel, Sase Narine, and Ralph Ramkarran, on the basis on which the sittings of the National Assembly can be reconvened.
Trotman said it is worthy of mention that the former Speakers presided in different eras and had different political loyalties, and yet, at this time, were able to come together as “elders” to provide a joint opinion and give guidance at a time of national stress.
He said that this is something that is highly commendable and he believes it should be replicated at every political level. He sought to publicly thank them for their service.
The House Speaker asserted that the National Assembly must soon resume sittings in the interest of the citizenry.
“With that said, if the process in which the Whips are involved cannot quickly yield an agreement, then I will shortly be proposing a way forward so we can safeguard our constitutional democracy,” Trotman added.
While some politicians are vigorously pursuing viable options to halt the current delay of the sitting of the National Assembly, former Speaker Ramkarran in his recent writings on his blog, (Conversation Tree) opined that every day that goes by without the sitting of the Parliament, amounts to a violation of the august body’s rules.
He had argued that the present Speaker was obliged to convene the sitting of the Parliament on October 11, the day after the parliamentary recess ended. He had said that this is supported by the Standing Orders.
Narain, who also served as Speaker of the House when the Peoples National Congress held the majority, had said that he provided Trotman with some advice in this regard. While he agreed in the main with Ramkarran’s position, he had insisted that once representation is made to the Speaker by a majority of the House, “he (Trotman) has the power to exercise discretion whether to call Parliament or not. This is undoubtedly supported by the Standing Orders.”
However, Clerk of the National Assembly, Sherlock Isaacs, recently disclosed that he disagrees with the opinion of the two former Speakers, Ramkarran and Narain, who believe that Trotman has the power to convene the sitting of the National Assembly.
Isaacs premised his arguments on decisions taken by two other former speakers who believed that the Speaker has no power to convene a sitting of the National Assembly, unless the Assembly is adjourned to a specified date prior to going into recess.
The Clerk of the National Assembly said in a published letter in the media, that on October 14, he was asked by Trotman whether he has the power, in accordance with the Standing Orders, to convene the next Sitting of the National Assembly.
Isaacs had said that he advised the Speaker that, in his opinion, he does not have that power and that he can only fix a date for a sitting when the Assembly is adjourned to a specified date.
Trotman is yet to disclose whether he has chosen to follow the advice given to him by “his elders” or that of Isaacs.
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