PPPC says Rotating Speakership Impractical
Written by Demerara Waves
Sunday, 08 January 2012 09:40
The Peoples Progressive Party Civic (PPPC) says A Partnership for National Unity’s (APNU) proposal for a rotating House Speakership with the Alliance For Change (AFC) is impractical.
The PPPC is pushing for Senior Counsel, Ralph Ramkarran to again become Speaker of the 65-seat National Assembly. APNU recently floated the idea of rotating the Speakership in a bid to break the deadlock with the AFC that has been insisting on Moses Nagamootoo. For its part, APNU has been pushing Debra Backer or Cammie Ramsaroop. It is the first time that a governing party has a minority in the House- PPPC 32, AFC 7 and APNU 26.
But the state-run Government Information Agency (GINA) quoted the PPPC’s Joseph Hamilton as saying that the rotational idea is impractical and resolving the issue should be discussed among the three parties that are about to take up seats in the assembly before month-end. Hamilton explained that the first speaker must tender a resignation when his/her tenure is up and that the successor can only be installed through the process of an election.
In this regard he said it is unclear whether the term of the Speaker will be brought to the Parliament through a resolution or vote for ratification and that if it is that the opposition agrees to a term of one year for each speaker it would imply that within five years there would be four rotations, which would mean four elections. For this reason, Hamilton said he is in favour of a discourse at a tripartite level which he is confident would bring definitiveness.
Presidential Advisor on Governance Gail Teixeira noted that it is unclear the duration in which the rotating speakers will be serving. The business of the National Assembly she believes will be stymied as a result. “APNU and AFC in their haste to try to be very counterproductive are really going to harm any effort of really trying to move the business of this country forward,” Teixeira said. Hamilton opined in a similar manner, that indecisiveness in the opposition camp in selecting a speaker has resulted in the business of the nation being put on hold.
“There is definitiveness on this matter, the parliament has to be convened. The nation cannot forever, wait on Roopnarine and Ramjattan and Granger and Trotman and their antics.”
Both individuals shared the view that the speaker is one who demonstrates impartiality in his pronouncements and demeanours but whose function is to ensure that the government’s legislative agenda is carried out. “He is not there to block the government but he is there to be fair… give the opposition and everybody a fair hearing and to make rulings that are fair,” Teixeira said, using the incumbent speaker Ralph Ramkarran as a model example.
The legislature for the first time since 1992 has taken a new dimension where the opposition parties combined, hold the majority of seats, with 26 from APNU and seven from the AFC.
At his inauguration Guyana’s new President Donald Ramotar said this new arrangement in Parliament would test the maturity of political leaders and will demand that the nation’s well should not be sacrificed on the altar of pettiness.
Shortly after the announcement of the elections results the leaders of the Parties in Parliament, at an invitation of President Ramotar, met at the office of the President for discussions and the selection of the speaker was chief among them.
Teixeira said today that during the discussion, President Ramotar had proposed Ramkarran for reelection to the speaker along with a list of requirements while the opposition parties named their representatives. All parties then agreed to a subsequent meeting where the list of nominees would be reviewed. That meeting was never held.
“You have APNU and AFC trying to divvy up parliament as if it is their property, ignoring the fact that the PPP got the majority of the votes… so it appears as if APNU, AFC want to come to the PPP government… and say take it or leave it. It flies in the face of any notion that they portrayed to the electorate prior to the elections and during the campaign that this is about national unity and partnership,” Teixeira said.
Written by Demerara Waves
Sunday, 08 January 2012 09:40
The Peoples Progressive Party Civic (PPPC) says A Partnership for National Unity’s (APNU) proposal for a rotating House Speakership with the Alliance For Change (AFC) is impractical.
The PPPC is pushing for Senior Counsel, Ralph Ramkarran to again become Speaker of the 65-seat National Assembly. APNU recently floated the idea of rotating the Speakership in a bid to break the deadlock with the AFC that has been insisting on Moses Nagamootoo. For its part, APNU has been pushing Debra Backer or Cammie Ramsaroop. It is the first time that a governing party has a minority in the House- PPPC 32, AFC 7 and APNU 26.
But the state-run Government Information Agency (GINA) quoted the PPPC’s Joseph Hamilton as saying that the rotational idea is impractical and resolving the issue should be discussed among the three parties that are about to take up seats in the assembly before month-end. Hamilton explained that the first speaker must tender a resignation when his/her tenure is up and that the successor can only be installed through the process of an election.
In this regard he said it is unclear whether the term of the Speaker will be brought to the Parliament through a resolution or vote for ratification and that if it is that the opposition agrees to a term of one year for each speaker it would imply that within five years there would be four rotations, which would mean four elections. For this reason, Hamilton said he is in favour of a discourse at a tripartite level which he is confident would bring definitiveness.
Presidential Advisor on Governance Gail Teixeira noted that it is unclear the duration in which the rotating speakers will be serving. The business of the National Assembly she believes will be stymied as a result. “APNU and AFC in their haste to try to be very counterproductive are really going to harm any effort of really trying to move the business of this country forward,” Teixeira said. Hamilton opined in a similar manner, that indecisiveness in the opposition camp in selecting a speaker has resulted in the business of the nation being put on hold.
“There is definitiveness on this matter, the parliament has to be convened. The nation cannot forever, wait on Roopnarine and Ramjattan and Granger and Trotman and their antics.”
Both individuals shared the view that the speaker is one who demonstrates impartiality in his pronouncements and demeanours but whose function is to ensure that the government’s legislative agenda is carried out. “He is not there to block the government but he is there to be fair… give the opposition and everybody a fair hearing and to make rulings that are fair,” Teixeira said, using the incumbent speaker Ralph Ramkarran as a model example.
The legislature for the first time since 1992 has taken a new dimension where the opposition parties combined, hold the majority of seats, with 26 from APNU and seven from the AFC.
At his inauguration Guyana’s new President Donald Ramotar said this new arrangement in Parliament would test the maturity of political leaders and will demand that the nation’s well should not be sacrificed on the altar of pettiness.
Shortly after the announcement of the elections results the leaders of the Parties in Parliament, at an invitation of President Ramotar, met at the office of the President for discussions and the selection of the speaker was chief among them.
Teixeira said today that during the discussion, President Ramotar had proposed Ramkarran for reelection to the speaker along with a list of requirements while the opposition parties named their representatives. All parties then agreed to a subsequent meeting where the list of nominees would be reviewed. That meeting was never held.
“You have APNU and AFC trying to divvy up parliament as if it is their property, ignoring the fact that the PPP got the majority of the votes… so it appears as if APNU, AFC want to come to the PPP government… and say take it or leave it. It flies in the face of any notion that they portrayed to the electorate prior to the elections and during the campaign that this is about national unity and partnership,” Teixeira said.