GOV’T NOW CHALLENGING VALIDITY OF NO CONFIDENCE MOTION

The Government has written to the speaker of the National Assembly telling him that there are areas on that No-Confidence Vote he needs to consider. Depending on the outcome of the speaker’s consideration, the Government intends to move to the Court, already, the dual citizenship of former government MP, Charrandas Persaud is being challenged. More in this report from Handell Duncan…

The APNU-AFC administration has now laid out its options moving forward regarding that successful opposition piloted No- Confidence in the National Assembly on December 21, last. It is now the Government’s position that there was a miscalculation of the majority of all elected members as required under Article 106(6) of the Constitution for the Government to be defeated on a vote of no confidence. To this end, a Legal Memorandum was sent to Dr. Barton Scotland, the Speaker of the National Assembly, setting out the legal issues that the Government side wish for him to consider.

Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs – Basil Williams Though Persaud, is now out, there might be other MPs in the National Assembly with dual citizenship, and how that will be looked at moving forward, is another story. According to the Attorney General, the Government side has a very impressive legal line up, yet it took, Attorney at Law Nigel Hughes to highlight an area of the constitution that the Government now plays on.

The Government side is also hoping that the speaker can review the outcomes of December 21.

If the Speaker’s ruling doesn’t favour the Government side, then, ​the Government will approach the court in respect to the mathematical formula, there, the Attorney General explained the Court can nullify the Speaker’s decision. Minister Williams told a news conference on Monday that the Government was not defeated by a majority as required under Article 106 (6) of the Constitution.

To now challenge the outcomes of the motion according to Minister Williams is tactical. He said, the Government side, had information that a government MP or MPs may side with the opposition. However, both the President and Prime Minister had earlier accepted the results, of the No-Confidence motion.

But, going back to 2014, when the Opposition at the time moved to file a No-Confidence motion against the Donald Ramotar administration with only 33 members, is now being considered by the Government as a scare tactic, since apparently, they knew they needed more than 33 votes, using the current formula.