APNU+AFC rejects recommendation to suspend 8 of its MPs

Jul 17, 2022 News

– calls move an act of political discrimination and suppression

Kaieteur News – The Opposition-led A Partnership for National Unity+ Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) has rejected the recommendation by the Committee of Privileges for eight of its Members of Parliament (MPs) to be suspended from the House.

Leader of the APNU+AFC: Aubrey Norton

In a statement released on the issue on Saturday, the opposition party said that it is rejecting the recommendation on three main grounds; that the move is unconstitutional, unparliamentarily and in their view, an act of political discrimination and suppression.

The party explained that their contention is premised on the claims that none of the members cited for suspension were given an opportunity to a fair hearing before the Committee of Privileges.

According to the APNU+AFC, on March 1, 2022, Opposition Members of Parliament Christopher Jones (Opposition Chief Whip), Ganesh Mahipaul, Tabitha Sarabo-Halley, Sherod Duncan, Vinceroy Jordan, Natasha Singh-Lewis, Annette Ferguson and Maureen Philadelphia received letters from the Clerk of the Committee of Privileges captioned: “Re: Referral to the Committee of Privileges for gross disorderly conduct, contempt, and breaches of privileges in the Assembly” requesting that they “show cause”, in writing, to the Clerk of the National Assembly by Monday, March 7, 2022, why the Committee of Privileges should not recommend to the National Assembly that sanctions be meted out to them for alleged gross disorderly conduct, contempt, and breaches of privileges.

The party went on to note that all eight MPs responded between the 4th and 7th March, 2022, requesting further information from the Clerk of the National Assembly on the allegations, since the motion which referred them to the Committee of Privileges for gross disorderly conduct, contempt, and breaches of privileges never specified which of their acts so qualified.

To this date, July 16, 2022, the APNU+AFC said none of the eight MPs received a response from the Clerk of the National Assembly, the Clerk of the Committee of Privileges, or the Speaker of the National Assembly but “the MPs are now however in receipt of a report from the Committee of Privileges which has ascribed to them several false and trumped-up acts intended to impugn their good character. The report recommends [their] suspension.”

As such, the APNU+AFC said that it rejects the recommendation on the basis that it is unconstitutional, unparliamentarily, an act of political discrimination and suppression.

The Opposition explained that their contention that the Guyana constitution—the supreme law of the land— enshrines the right of all citizens to natural justice; that is, the right of every Guyanese, regardless of the charges, to be given an opportunity to be heard by a competent, independent, and impartial court or any other tribunal prescribed by law. In their view, the APNU+AFC iterated that this was not done.

Further, the party noted that records of Parliament show that all MPs in the past who were referred to the Committee of Privileges were always afforded the opportunity to be represented by legal counsels of their choice and were all given the opportunity to be heard.

As a result, the opposition is calling the act to suspend its members, one of political discrimination and suppression, aimed at deterring and intimidating Opposition MPs from fully scrutinising and criticising the actions of the government on behalf of the Guyanese people.

“It is our firm conviction that this is yet another attempt by the PPP regime to continue breaking down the guardrails of our democracy. But our lawmakers will not sit back and allow such an unconstitutional act to go unchallenged…This illegal act to suspend eight Members of Parliament without due process will be challenged…” the party added.

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