CALM UNDER FIRE: Speaker holds firm against rowdy Opposition

THE Electoral College – which comprises all members of the House of Representatives and the Senate – on Thursday rejected a motion filed by Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar for the appointment of a tribunal to investigate the removal of President Paula-Mae Weekes from office.

Persad-Bissessar’s motion was in relation to events that led to the collapse of the Police Service Commission (PSC) last month and the failure to send a merit list of candidates for a commissioner of police (CoP) to the House for consideration.

Under Section 36 (1) (c) of the Constitution, a two-thirds vote of the members of both Houses of Parliament is needed to approve the motion.

This number equates to 48 votes. The Government has 37 members in the House and Senate combined, while the Opposition has 25. The nine independent senators, Annisette-George and Senate President Christine Kangaloo complete the membership of the college.

Government and the Opposition each had one member absent from the meeting of the college: Tunapuna MP Esmond Forde and Mayaro MP Rushton Paray. At the earlier sitting ot the House held for Persad-Bissessar to present her motion, Annisette-George said she had granted leave of absence from the sitting to both men.

At the end of the college’s meeting (during which members either voted yes. no or abstained when their names where called by the chairman, Speaker Bridgid Annisette-George, the Opposition fell short of the two-thirds majority needed to approve the motion.

She announced the motion had been defeated by a vote of 47 against and 24 for. All 24 UNC parliamentarians present voted for the motion. The 36 government parliamentarians present voted against.

Also voting against the motion were the nine independent senators, Annisette-George and Kangaloo to complete the 47-vote tally that saw it defeated.

Section 36 of the Constitution also states that when such a motion is defeated, the Speaker must inform the President immediately of this development. The Opposition cannot refile the motion during the current parliamentary session.

Similar to events in the earlier sitting of the House, held for Persad-Bissessar to present her motion, opposition parliamentarians continued to complain that Persad-Bissessar was not allowed to read her motion to the college, their microphones were being muted and they were being denied their right to debate the motion.

There were loud howls of protest from Opposition parliamentarians during the roll call of college members, when Independent Senator Charrise Seepersad (sister of former PSC chairman Bliss Seepersad) said she was present.

St Augustine MP Khadijah Ameen led a chorus of protests from opposition MPs that Seepersad’s presence was a conflict of interest. Ameen called on Annisette-George to rule on whether Seepersad should recuse herself from the meeting.

Annisette-George reminded Ameen and other Opposition MPs that she had given that ruling in the House minutes earlier and would not debar Seepersad or any other member of the college from its proceedings.

As the roll call continued, most of the Opposition parliamentarians continued to show their defiance by repeating Persad-Bissessar’s statement minutes earlier that the Opposition was “here but under protest.”

Opposition Senator Anil Roberts seemed to deviate slightly from the UNC’s script when he said, “Here and ready to debate.”

UNC Senator Wade Mark asked if the proceedings would be recorded in the Parliament’s record, the Hansard.

Barataria/San Juan MP Saddam Hosein stood up and claimed that as a lawyer, he found the proceedings unfair.

Annisette-George said, “It appears as if we don’t want to get on with the business of the day,” and reminded the MPs in the college of her ruling earlier in the day in the House on these complaints.

Opposition senators Mark, Jayanti Lutchemedial and Roberts complained they had not heard the motion in the House and wanted Persad-Bissessar to read the motion to the college before they voted on it.

As UNC parliamentarians continued to protest, the vote count from members of the college proceeded, with all government members present loudly voting “No.”

When it came their turn, all UNC parliamentarians continued to loudly protest and thump their desks, making it difficult to determine how they voted.

At one point, Annisette-George asked Mark how he was voting, after he insisted that he could not vote because his microphone could not be turned on amidst the loud support of his Opposition colleagues.

Eventually, Mark replied, “Yes! This is a death to democracy.”

When the independent senators each voted “no” on the motion, UNC parliamentarians cried, “Shame!”

Their protests were particularly heightened when Seepersad voted against the motion. Annisette-George told them the guidelines for the proceedings were clear, but said while there might be disagreement over the procedure being used, all members of the House and Senate agreed the matter was an important one.

UNC MPs, including Persad-Bissessar, continued to complain about democracy being undermined, the lack of debate on the motion and whether the vote would be by secret ballot or not.