Opposition, Speaker condemn suspension of Parliament

Last Updated on Monday, 10 November 2014, 20:11 by GxMedia

Guyana’s President, Donald Ramotar on Monday suspend the Parliament, dashing the opposition’s hopes of passing a no-confidence motion in his administration and paving the way for fresh elections in 90 days.

The President’s decision came six days after he had warned that he would have either suspend Parliament or dissolve it and make way for fresh elections if the combined opposition had sought to forge ahead with the no-confidence motion at the expense of government’s parliamentary agenda.

You can listen to today’s edition of Caribbean News Desk by clicking on this link https://www.dropbox.com/s/btt4jg4wsh90atc/caribnews_mon_nov10_2014.mp3?dl=0 to download the programme

In address to the Nation, Mr Ramotar defended his decision to prorogue the Parliament for a maximum of six months on grounds, saying that it was the sole recourse he had to preserve the life of the law-making body and create an opening for further talks with the Opposition.

The combined opposition- A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance For Change (AFC) – say they will talk with the President only after the prorogation ends swiftly, rather than the full six months that is allowed under the constitution.

While  the 32 government parliamentarians , as expected, did not turn up for the scheduled sitting, the Opposition’s 33 took up their seats and were updated by House Speaker Raphael Trotman who called the President’s move , distasteful, unfortunate, illegal and “most undemocratic.”

Trotman, who is from the opposition Alliance For Change (AFC), says President Ramotar’s prorogation will lead Guyana down a historic path either for good or bad.

Opposition Leader, David Granger says President Ramotar’s suspension of the Parliament is aimed at avoiding oversight by the Opposition-controlled National Assembly…

Even as mainly Afro-Guyanese supporters of Granger’s A Partnership for National Unity picketed outside Parliament Building, Leader of the Alliance For Change Khemraj Ramjattan cautioned against street protests because it will cause East Indo-Guyanese to consolidate their support of the governing People’s Progressive Party Civic.

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We hear from an eyewitness to that plane crash in The Bahamas that claimed the lives of Evangelist Dr Myles Munroe, his wife and seven others

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