Date fixed for 1st Parliamentary sitting after elections

Last Updated on Wednesday, 3 June 2015, 21:55 by GxMedia

The convening of the National Assembly has been slated for Wednesday June 10 at 2PM now that the Clerk of the National Assembly is in receipt of the President’s proclamation delivered today Wednesday June 3.

The Clerk, Sherlock Isaacs confirmed this information stating that President David Granger has made the formal pronouncement via proclamation. As it stands preparation of the Assembly’s reopening is ongoing. It is expected that the Speaker of the House will be selected at this first seating.

So far, Attorney-at-Law Roysdale Forde has been offered as the best candidate for the Speakership by the Alliance for Change arm of the Coalition government.

According to the Clerk, if he is the only nominee for the post then he will be selected, but if any other name comes up then a vote will be taken and the winner declared the Chair.

The main opposition People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPPC) has so far not submitted its names to fill the 32 seats that it won at the May 11, 2015 general and regional elections.

Parliament has been closed since November 10, 2014 after former President Donald Ramotar prorogued it, effectively restricting any discussions between the two major parties seated in the 65-seat House. The propagation had come one day after the House had returned from Parliamentary recess and it was expected that the then Combined Opposition of the A Partnership for National Unity and Alliance for Change would have passed a no-confidence vote against the Ramotar regime.

The prorogation then led to the holding of General and Regional Elections 2015, which saw the defeat of the PPP which had been in power for 23 years.