…sitting deferred to Monday

FRIDAY’s sitting of the National Assembly has been postponed on the request of the Government of Guyana.

The postponement, which was granted by the Speaker of the National Assembly Dr. Barton Scotland, was done to facilitate a special caucus of government ministers at the Ministry of the Presidency in light of the pending No-Confidence Motion.

“Given the submission of a Motion of No-Confidence yesterday, the government felt it necessary and urgent to convene a meeting to apprise and brief all Members of Parliament,” Director of Public Information Imran Khan said in an official statement on Friday.
Given its majority in Parliament, the coalition government of Guyana is confident that the motion of no-confidence will be solidly defeated.

And while the deferral occurred without an explanation being offered to the opposition parliamentarians, Khan said this is nothing new.
“There is precedent, going back to 2011 and 2012 for the request for postponement. Under the PPP government, four requests were made for postponement without explanation,” the Director of Public Information said.

The sitting of the National Assembly will now take place on Monday, November 19, and according to the Clerk of the National Assembly Sherlock Isaacs, all Members of Parliament have been formally notified.

On Thursday, Leader of the Opposition Bharrat Jagdeo disclosed that he had submitted a no-confidence motion to the Parliament Office against the government because of a poor track record in office as was done in the case of former President Donald Ramotar, when a no-confidence motion was brought against his administration.

But Public Health Minister and Chairman of the People’s National Congress/Reform (PNC/R), Volda Lawrence dismissed the no-confidence motion tabled against the government by Jagdeo, noting that the coalition is strong.

Reacting to the motion, Lawrence reminded that Jagdeo’s minority party in the House does not have the votes to successfully pass such a motion. In the 10th Parliament, a similar motion was brought against the PPP’s minority government led by Donald Ramotar by then AFC MP Moses Nagamootoo; but before the motion was allowed, the then President prorogued Parliament. He was heavily criticised by both citizens and the diplomatic community, forcing him to dissolve parliament and call fresh elections which he lost in May 2015.

“My fellow Guyanese, please do rest assured that the coalition government stands strong and united and is well prepared to withstand Bharrat Jagdeo’s idle rantings and no-confidence motion,” Lawrence said in a Facebook post Thursday evening. On Friday, the coalition government addressed the press on the matter before its emergency meeting at the Ministry of the Presidency.