Guyana Government Could Determine Date For Debate Of Motion Of Opposition’s No Confidence Against It

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, November 23, 2018 (CMC) – The Guyana government, which is facing a motion of no confidence against it, will have to decide on the date, when the matter can be debated in the 65-member National Assembly, where it has a slender one-seat majority, according to a statement released, here.

The statement, by the Clerk of the National Assembly, Sherlock Isaacs, said in keeping with British practice, the David Granger government would have to come up with a date, but it could take into consideration its own needs in the Assembly.

There had been much debate in the media as to whether or not the date for debating the motion, filed by Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo, would have had to be determined by the government itself or the Speaker.

“In keeping with the British practice, when a motion of no-confidence was brought against the government in 2014, having regard to the exigencies of the government’s business, it was published on Notice Paper and dealt with like other Private Members’ motions that require notice: it was placed on the Order Paper for consideration by the National Assembly twelve (12) days from the day, on which the notice was published on a Notice Paper.

“In my view, the day for the hearing of a no-confidence motion is determined by the government and not by the Speaker of the National Assembly of Guyana,” Isaacs said.

Media reports, here, said that the government, which has already dismissed the motion of no confidence as frivolous, is likely to set a date in the New Year or just before the Christmas holidays.

Jagdeo, a former president, said whether the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) wins or loses the no confidence motion, he believes the country will benefit from the debate surrounding it, “because we believe we will get a chance, once again, to point out what the electorate said to them when they rejected them at these polls, that their policies are all wrong and damaging our prospects for the future and the well-being of all of our people across Guyana”.

Finance Minister Winston Jordan is expected to deliver the 2018-19 national budget to the National Assembly, on Monday, and the debate is expected to begin a week later.