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Opposition Chief Whip writes to Regional Parliamentary bodies
– Highlights it has been 85 days since the last sitting of Parliament
Kaieteur News – Opposition Chief Whip, Christopher Jones, has written a letter to the President of Regional Parliamentary ParlAmericas, Blanca Ovelar, enlightening her on the number of days it has been since the last sitting of the National Assembly, seeking her intervention for a resolution to the issue. The letter was also sent to the President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Duarte Pacheco, and Secretary General of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, Stephen Twigg.
Opposition Chief Whip, Christopher Jones.
ParlAmericas, the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, are institutions that promote parliamentary diplomacy, facilitate the exchange of parliamentary good practices and foster cooperative political dialogue in pursuit of the United Nations sustainable development goals.
Jones stated in his letter, dated May 27, 2021, “We write to bring to your attention further actions by the Speaker of the National Assembly of Guyana to erode Parliamentary democracy.” He believes that, “The failure to convene sittings of the National Assembly is now giving further credence of a developing dictatorship in Guyana.”
According to the letter seen by this publication, Jones disclosed that during December 2020, the Opposition wrote directing serious concerns in the failure by the Speaker of the National Assembly, Manzoor Nadir, to commence sittings of the National Assembly since September 2, 2020. He then stated that Parliament was subsequently convened predominantly to debate and to pass the 2021 budget, which was passed on March 4, 2021 – on that date Jones noted, made 85 days since the last sitting of Parliament.
Jones mentioned in his letter that, since then, the Speaker made no indication on any intended date for another sitting of the National Assembly. He added that since the “forced closure” of Parliament, the Opposition has submitted 487 questions for both oral and written replies. Those questions, he added, concern Health, Security, Governance, Environment, Education, Economic and International Relations issues, which he claims have not been addressed by the Ministers with responsibility for the relevant sectors.
Another issue the Opposition Chief Whip highlighted is the ruling by the High Court on the unlawful appointment of two Members of Parliament appointed as Parliamentary Secretaries by the Government. He stated that despite the Court’s ruling, the Speaker has taken no distinct step to remove the two unlawful appointed Parliamentary Secretaries.
In his letter, Jones further noted, that the Opposition is seeking the support of ParlAmericas and other Regional Parliamentary bodies in “safeguarding parliamentary democracy” and encouraging the arrangement of regular sittings of the National Assembly.
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