Contemptuous to say Parliament convening must await political talks – Ramkarran

Ralph Ramkarran

Telling the nation that a sitting of the National Assembly must await the outcome of a meeting between the President and Opposition Leader demonstrates contempt for the people and the Speaker must bring an end to this situation without delay, former Speaker of the National Assembly Ralph Ramkarran says.

Over the past weeks, there has been a debate as to who has the authority to reconvene sittings at the end of a recess where a date has not been fixed for sittings. Clerk of the National Assembly Sherlock Isaacs has said that the government has to call the sitting while Ramkarran has said that the current Speaker is obligated to convene a sitting of Parliament soonest and has the authority to do so. Current Speaker Raphael Trotman has said that he has consulted with former House speakers and was considering the way forward. He is to make a proposal today.

In addition, on Friday, government’s chief whip in the National Assembly Gail Teixeira said that she is awaiting the outcome