House Speaker rejects AFC’s request to reschedule parliamentary sitting on eve of Emancipation Day

Last Updated on Tuesday, 30 July 2024, 17:23 by Writer

The Alliance For Change’s (AFC’s) call for Wednesday’s scheduled parliamentary sitting to be pushed back because it would be on the eve of Guyana’s Emancipation Day celebrations was rejected by House Speaker, Manzoor Nadir.

Responding to AFC parliamentarian David Patterson on behalf of the Speaker, Clerk of the National Assembly Sherlock Isaacs cited several precedents in which parliamentary sittings had been held on the eve of a holiday.

He also said adequate notice, totalling six days clear, was given to all parliamentarians informing them that the sitting would be held on July 31, 2024. “His Honour has also asked me to inform you that the convening of a sitting before a public holiday is not unusual and that there are several precedents in the National Assembly of the Parliament of Guyana,” Mr Isaacs told Mr Patterson.

The Clerk said those sittings were held before Republic Day and Arrival Day in 2016, Good Friday in 2017 and before Republic Day in 2021. Mr Patterson had asked for Wednesday’s sitting to be postponed because of the relatively short notice for this sitting which coincides with the eve of the sacred Emancipation Day observances and celebrations.

In his July 26, 2024 letter to the Speaker, Mr Patterson said no parliamentary sitting had ever been held on the eve of Emancipation Day. “Our research has found no historical precedent for scheduling a parliamentary sitting on this date, as it is widely understood that many celebrations and cultural events commence on the afternoon and evening of July 31st and continue into the next day,” he said.

Mr Patterson said many AFC members had longstanding commitments to participate in Emancipation Day events, which honour the struggles and achievements of African ancestors. “This rescheduling would demonstrate respect for the African Guyanese community and ensure that all Members of Parliament can participate fully in both their parliamentary duties and the national celebrations,” he said.

Through the Clerk of the Assembly, the House Speaker said he hoped that the “parties will work in unity to finish the business on the Order Paper for the sitting in an efficient manner.”

The AFC parliamentarian contended that Emancipation Day, celebrated on August 1st, is a significant national holiday in Guyana, commemorating the abolition of slavery in the British Empire in 1834. He had argued that the day holds profound cultural and historical importance, particularly for the African Guyanese community, and is marked by various events and observances that begin on the evening of July 31st.