Not a bad thing if we go to the polls – Speaker

“Every effort has been made to frustrate the work of the Parliament”

Speaker of the National Assembly, Raphael Trotman has stated that the political opposition cannot be faulted for the

House Speaker,
Raphael Trotman

No-Confidence Motion which is expected to be debated in October.
Asked whether he believes that the Motion which was laid in the Assembly by the Alliance For Change (AFC) is the best option for the people at this time, Trotman said, “If the Opposition feels that it has exhausted every recourse towards compromise in getting government to see its way, well then I can’t fault them.”

“Certainly, there is the impression that every effort has been made to frustrate the work of the Parliament, and I would have to agree with it.”
Trotman said that if the parties feel that they have had enough and have exhausted all options, then he can “understand their position.”

The Speaker opined as well, “For me, every option should be explored and if there is no room for dialogue and agreement then we owe it to the people to go for a fresh mandate and if we are going to continue to be fighting for the next three years then that makes no sense.”
He added, “Perhaps, it is not such a bad thing if we are to go to the polls, so we either get a clear majority or we are returned with the same situation. And if we are returned with it, we will have to find away to make it work.”

“But let me say this, it is not fair and right for the people of Guyana to be made to suffer through this for another three years,” Trotman concluded.
The House Speaker also stated that come October when the National Assembly will re-convene for its next sitting, the No-Confidence Motion will be treated as “any other motion” that has come before the House.

The No Confidence Motion against the Guyana Government will not be debated until after October 10 when the House comes out of recess.
Clerk of the National Assembly, Sherlock Isaacs, had said that an extraordinary sitting of the House could be held in order to facilitate a debate, but Trotman had made it clear that the mover of the Motion would have to make a request first.

Vice Chairman of the AFC, Moses Nagamootoo who had moved the Motion, told Kaieteur News that a special request would not be made.
He said that the combined opposition agreed that the Motion will be debated and voted on when the National Assembly resumes.

The AFC had made good on its promise to file a no Confidence Motion against the Guyana Government which, if approved, will force Head of State, President Donald Ramotar to call fresh General Elections.
The AFC’s General Secretary, David Patterson, accompanied by Treasurer Dominic Gaskin, delivered the Motion to the Clerk of the National Assembly.
APNU at that time had already signaled its intention to support the Motion.
The historic Motion is one line: “Be it resolved that this National Assembly has no confidence in the Government.” It was proposed by the party’s Vice Chairman, Nagamootoo and seconded by Member of Parliament, Catherine Hughes.

Talk of a No Confidence Motion against the PPP government has lingered for months with the incumbent party telling the combined opposition to ‘put up or shut up’. The PPP’s General Secretary Clement Rohee had challenged the opposition parties to “demonstrate their testicular capacity by giving effect to their stated desire for a No Confidence Motion in Parliament, failing which they should shut up and forever hold their peace.”

The AFC had indicated its move of the No-Confidence Motion against the PPP government since all of the changes that it bargained for in the development of the country have not been given an ear by the Administration. The Finance Minister’s “violation of the law” by spending $4.5B of monies not approved by the National Assembly in the 2014 budget, among other issues, also fuelled the Motion.