Clerk of the National Assembly, Sherlock Isaacs yesterday refused to convene a sitting of Parliament on November 6, 2014 as he had been requested to do, prompting Speaker Raphael Trotman to declare a constitutional crisis and urging all stakeholders to work at resolving the matter.
The opposition has been pressing for the convening of Parliament but since the end of the recess, questions have arisen as to who had the power to call a sitting. Isaacs had advised Trotman that such power did not reside in the speakership. However, Trotman after consulting with former speakers had arrived at the conclusion that sittings could be held based on the Standing Orders and he asked Isaacs to convene one. This has now been nixed and focus will now shift to government Chief Whip Gail Teixeira who has been accused by Opposition Chief Whip Amna Ally of dilly-dallying with the date.
Trotman in a release yesterday stated that “I was formally notified by the Clerk of the National Assembly that after consideration, my request for the
