Grave disorder

Dec 31, 2021 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

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Kaieteur News – What occurred in the National Assembly on Wednesday should come as no surprise. This column has long indicated that the APNU+AFC does not have a place in democratic institutions and should not be allowed to participate in democratic processes unless it demonstrates that it understands what such participation entails and seeks redemption for its rouge actions, especially during the five-month impass following the 2020 General and Regional Elections.
The APNU+AFC is an utter disgrace to its supporters and to Guyana. It has brought shame and infamy to the politics of this country by its flouting of constitutional rule by its unlawful appointment of the Chairperson of the Guyana Elections Commission, its refusal to resign and following the passage of the no-confidence motion, its shenanigans following the elections of 2nd March 2020 and now its assault on parliamentary elections. It became the first political entity in the country to have had persons associated with its government sanctioned by the United States and to be subject to threats of such sanctions from other western states.
Its utterly discredited narrative, about dead and migrant persons voting and about gross irregularities in the elections, even in the face of contrary opinions from international observers, have left it isolated and emasculated from the democratic process.
The APNU+AFC has taken up its seats in parliament. But it does not belong there. And last Wednesday’s assault on parliamentary democracy adds to the sins of the Coalition which has now established, beyond any shadow of doubt, that it is no respecter of electoral democracy and now of parliamentary democracy.
The scenes of the unruly ruckus have been beamed around the world. And the APNU+AFC actions would have further scarred its already sordid reputation.
There can be no justification whatsoever for its actions in attempting to disrupt and abort the debate on the contentious amendments to the Natural Resource Fund Bill. The actions of the APNU+AFC were in contempt of the parliament. Further, some actions bordered or involved criminal conduct and these are not protected by parliamentary privileges.
What makes the conduct of those involved all the more contemptible is that just earlier in the day, the Opposition had been very responsible during the debate on the Local Content Legislation. It had tabled 14 amendments to the Local Content Bill and the government had acceded to 10 of those. In that context, it made no sense to call for the Local Content Bill to be sent to a Select Committee since 10 out of 14 amendments had already been agreed to and there was little hope of the remaining 4 passing muster.
The role of the Opposition is to debate and to present alternatives to the government. It is not to attempt to derail the sitting as it tried to do. It had a duty to place on record its objections, but instead it resorted to obstructing the work of the Assembly. This constitutes contempt.
Theatrics has become part of parliamentary culture. But what took place last Wednesday went beyond theatrics. It was terror and an assault on parliamentary democracy. It must not go unpunished.
Those errant parliamentarians must pay a high price for their misconduct. The Stabroek News called for those responsible to be placed before the Privileges Committee. But there is no need for this. The facts are already established. What took place was contempt for the Speaker and contempt for the House.
Contempt is defined in the Manual of Procedure, Practices and Conventions Used by Parliamentarians in The Conduct of the Business of the National Assembly as: “Any act or omission which obstructs or impedes the Assembly in the performance of its functions, or which obstructs or impedes any Member, or officer of the Assembly in discharge of his/her duty, or which has a tendency, directly or indirectly, to produce such results may be treated as a contempt, though there be no precedent of the offence.”
The Speaker is within his powers to suspend those responsible in accordance with Standing Order 47.
The APNU+AFC has squandered an opportunity to establish a stronger relationship with civil society. It had enjoyed some support within civil society over its objections to the National Resource Fund Bill. That support is now likely to evaporate following the ruckus of last Wednesday.
But the more fundamental issue at stake is not so much the Bill which was passed amidst the grave disorder. It is now clear that the APNU+AFC cannot operate within a democratic framework and cannot be trusted to ever do so.
(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)

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