Speaker of the National Assembly Raphael Trotman yesterday said that the President Donald Ramotar’s line in the sand over bills passed by the opposition without government input is a sign of frustration.
“I think that it is a statement perhaps more out of frustration that he feels that the government is being pressed to the wall and I would say perhaps bad advice; a combination of the two, because if we were to understand a concept of the separation of powers, the legislator has a right to pass laws and as president, unless you can show very good and exceptional reasons why he should refuse to assent to them, he ought to,” Trotman told reporters during a press briefing, immediately after the opening ceremony of a two-day workshop on Working with the Parliamentary Oversight Committees. Trotman noted that there will be a government-opposition dialogue next Tuesday and he was hopeful that the issue will be among the discussions at that forum.
Last Thursday, Ramotar, in a “special interview” with the National Communications Network, warned the opposition that the one-seat majority will not result in the passage of bills unless the executive – government – has had input in them. “That is not the function of the opposition. They must respect what is their role… I am making it very clear that I will not assent to any bill that they carry unless it is with the full agreement of the Executive and the full involvement of the Executive,” Ramotar was quoted as saying in a report on the interview by the Government Information Agency (GINA).
Trotman yesterday stressed that dialogue must never end and “we must never see dialogue as failing because the prospects of failed dialogue are too dire to consider.” According to him, the dialogue process is about building trust and having mutual respect and understanding each other’s positions.
He further noted that there is no indication that the government is withdrawing from the process in any way. Further, he said government MPs have been participating in parliamentary committee meetings despite the fact that the administration has appealed the Chief Justice’s decision to throw out their challenge of how the committees were composed.
“I would like to say that there are encouraging signs that we are making progress. It is a work-in-progress,” he said, while adding that even though he is not a party to the tripartite talks between government, APNU and AFC, he will continue to engage both the executive and the opposition to ensure that there is always a level of goodwill and a level of calm in any talks.
The hung Parliament has left both sides at a quintessential standoff. The government cannot pass bills unless it secures an opposition vote and while the opposition can present and pass legislation, it will not become law unless assented is given by President Ramotar. Both opposition parties have since said that they are open to consultations with the government on legislation they plan to bring to the National Assembly but the same courtesy would have to be extended to them on government legislation.
