By Kurt Campbell
[www.inewsguyana.com] –Clerk of the National Assembly, Sherlock Isaacs has completed his review of the No – Confidence Motion against the incumbent submitted by the Alliance for Change (AFC), so said AFC General Secretary David Patterson.
Patterson said the Party not awaits the Speaker, Raphael Trotman’s ruling on the Motion, which is expected within coming days.
He observed however, that since the submission of the Motion on August, there has been much discourse in the public domain which seeks to legally challenge the motion’s admissibility.
To this end, Patterson said “similarly worded motions were submitted in other countries and were accepted and debated on… take Trinidad and Tobago for example… we are confident the motion will be accepted.”
The General Secretary told the media, during the Party’s weekly press briefing today that once accepted, the AFC is looking for an early debate but said the most likely debate will be on the first sitting after the end of the current two month recess which culminates on October 10.
He explained that the AFC’s position is to have all Opposition Members of Parliament present, which amounts to a one seat majority in the House, so that the motion’s passage is guaranteed.
Patterson said an emergency sitting may be unlikely; explaining the difficulty in having all members present during the recess.
The AFC, while it has the least MP’s has challenged the government, with the support of the main opposition – A Partnership for National Unity (APNU).
Opposition Leader, David Granger had said too that a debate on the motion was unlikely during the recess period; noting that several MPs had traveled overseas and how difficult it would be to recall those members.
What is for sure is that the one seat majority combined opposition is serious about this motion. The combined opposition contentions lay, among others, in the alleged illegal spending of public funds by Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh.
The AFC has also filed a police complaint; claiming the government continues to show disregard for the constitution. In fact the government has used the very constitution, along with Court rulings to defend its spending.
Yesterday, Cabinet Secertary Dr. Roger Luncheon said the administration is yet to formally discussion the pending motion, which has to ability to topple them, even as Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee hinted the possibility of the administration calling snap elections before the motion can be debated in October.
According to Guyana’s constitution, the President and the Cabinet must resign with immediate effect, if the motion is passed.
Once this is done, the Government has three months to remain in office and prepare for elections.
trotman must now call them back to parliament and pass the vote…