Doubt over attendance of current Deputy Speaker

THE National Assembly will meet next Thursday, January 23 and the election of a new Deputy Speaker could take place if the current one, Ms. Deborah Backer is unable to attend.Speaker of the House, Mr. Raphael Trotman is expected to be away when that sitting is scheduled and the Parliament Office has received no word as to whether Backer will be attending.

The front-bencher of A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) has been absent from the House due to a still unconfirmed illness and had to access medical care outside of Guyana at least twice in the last month.
Backer, in early January, was flown to Florida in the United States (U.S.) for tests and APNU Leader David Granger expressed hopes for her speedy recovery.
Asked about her attendance at last Thursday’s sitting, Mr. Granger had said:“Mrs. Backer’s condition is stable and we don’t have any reason to speculate on her attendance.”
The Member of Parliament (MP) was first treated at a private hospital in Georgetown after falling ill.
Backer had been slated to move the second reading of the Married Persons (Property) (Amendment) Bill 2013, last Thursday, which would have amended the Principal Act, the Married Persons (Property) Act.