Contrary to claims being made by Opposition Members, video footage shows that at the time when voting took place on the Natural Resource Fund (NRF) Bill, the Mace was properly in place.
The Mace is the most integral part of the National Assembly’s business and if it is not in the House, no business can be conducted.
On entering and leaving the Parliament Chamber, the Speaker is preceded by the Sergeant-at-Arms bearing the Mace on his right shoulder.
When the National Assembly is in session, the Mace is placed on the Clerk’s table, with its head pointing towards the Government side of the Chamber.
When the Assembly meets as a Committee of the Whole Assembly, the Mace is placed below the Clerk’s table.
When the Mace lies upon the table, the House is in session and when under, it is a Committee.
A look at the live broadcast of when the voting took place, posted in the social media pages of the Guyana Parliament, shows the House Speaker Manzoor Nadir holding down the mace after it was returned following the APNU+AFC’s disruptions.
This occurred at around 20:23hrs.
The Guyana Government has already issued a statement making it clear that, “the mace was also in place at the time when the question was put to the House and the vote taken.”
