Violation of parliamentary convention hurts ‘coming together’
Written by PREM MISIR
Monday, 16 January 2012 20:15
CONVENING of the 10th Parliament happened on Thursday January 12, 2012. I observed at the Parliament on that day that the House proceeded to institute the elections process for the Speaker and Deputy Speaker before Members of Parliament (MPs) were sworn in.
I thought then that that was odd because MPs were voting prior to their becoming legally constituted. Nonetheless, there may have been good reasons and existing parliamentary rules for this modus operandi.
At any rate, the most important business of that event was the election of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the House. Both were elected through a simple majority of members present and voting in the House, where the elected Speaker and Deputy Speaker came from the combined Opposition. While this action may not be erroneous from a majority-minority perspective, it seems to be inconsistent with what prevails in several parliamentary democracies, namely, that the Speaker generally comes from the ruling party. Here is a list of Speakers in some of those democracies:
** India: Smt. Meira Kumar (ruling Congress Party, main coalition partner) is the Speaker of the House in the Lok Sabha.
** Singapore: Mr. Michael Palmer (ruling People’s Action Party) is the Speaker of the Singapore Parliament.
** Great Britain: Mr. John Bercow (ruling Conservative Party, main coalition partner), is the Speaker of the House of Commons.
** Mr. Andrew Scheer (ruling Conservative Party of Canada), is the Speaker of the House of Commons, Canada.
** New Zealand: Dr. Lockwood Smith (ruling National Party), is the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
** Trinidad & Tobago: Mr. Wade Mark (ruling UNC, main coalition partner) is the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
** Barbados: Mr. Michael Carrington (ruling Democratic Labour Party) is the Speaker of the House of Assembly.
** St. Lucia: Mr. Peter Foster (ruling St. Lucia Labour Party) is the Speaker of the House.
In India’s parliamentary democracy, the following holds: “One of the first acts of a newly constituted House is to elect the Speaker. Usually, a member belonging to the ruling party is elected the Speaker. A healthy convention, however, has evolved over the years whereby the ruling party nominates its candidate after informal consultations with the Leaders of other Parties and Groups in the House. This convention ensures that once elected, the Speaker enjoys the respect of all sections of the House” (Office of the Speaker Lok Sabha).
Nevertheless, there is the view of some in Guyana that a simple majority of the MPs to elect the Speaker and Deputy Speaker minus informal inter-party consultations could supersede the parliamentary convention that the Speaker generally should emanate from the ruling party.
The raison d'être of this convention is intended to create an environment, where the elected Speaker would command full authority within parliamentary chambers. I am not sure, that in the first meeting of the 10th Parliament, in a situation of total partisan voting possibly producing an erosion of trust and confidence in that parliamentary environment, whether the elected Speaker and Deputy Speaker can effectively function.
Disregard of this parliamentary convention brings to the fore the issues and intrigue surrounding the December 7, 1964 election in Guyana, when the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) with the most votes, and which could have been the ruling party, was denied the right to constitute the government; in the same way in the current situation, where international parliamentary convention supports the Speaker coming from the ruling party, and where there now seems to have been a breach of this convention.
Let me explain further the situation in 1964 to show the linkage with the present parliamentary imbroglio.
This past December 7, 2011, symbolised 47 years for the notorious 1964 Election Day in British Guiana (now Guyana). The U.S. and British Governments forced this election upon the Guyanese people in a perpetual effort during the Cold War to do away with the PPP from office vis-à-vis a new electoral deal, Proportional Representation (PR). The election produced the following results:
Party Votes, 1964 % Votes, 1961 % Votes, 1964
PPP 109,332 42.6 45.8
PNC 96,567 40.9 40.5
UF 26,612 16.3 12.4
GUMP 1,194
JP 1,334
PEP 224
NLF 177
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Written by PREM MISIR
Monday, 16 January 2012 20:15
CONVENING of the 10th Parliament happened on Thursday January 12, 2012. I observed at the Parliament on that day that the House proceeded to institute the elections process for the Speaker and Deputy Speaker before Members of Parliament (MPs) were sworn in.
I thought then that that was odd because MPs were voting prior to their becoming legally constituted. Nonetheless, there may have been good reasons and existing parliamentary rules for this modus operandi.
At any rate, the most important business of that event was the election of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the House. Both were elected through a simple majority of members present and voting in the House, where the elected Speaker and Deputy Speaker came from the combined Opposition. While this action may not be erroneous from a majority-minority perspective, it seems to be inconsistent with what prevails in several parliamentary democracies, namely, that the Speaker generally comes from the ruling party. Here is a list of Speakers in some of those democracies:
** India: Smt. Meira Kumar (ruling Congress Party, main coalition partner) is the Speaker of the House in the Lok Sabha.
** Singapore: Mr. Michael Palmer (ruling People’s Action Party) is the Speaker of the Singapore Parliament.
** Great Britain: Mr. John Bercow (ruling Conservative Party, main coalition partner), is the Speaker of the House of Commons.
** Mr. Andrew Scheer (ruling Conservative Party of Canada), is the Speaker of the House of Commons, Canada.
** New Zealand: Dr. Lockwood Smith (ruling National Party), is the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
** Trinidad & Tobago: Mr. Wade Mark (ruling UNC, main coalition partner) is the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
** Barbados: Mr. Michael Carrington (ruling Democratic Labour Party) is the Speaker of the House of Assembly.
** St. Lucia: Mr. Peter Foster (ruling St. Lucia Labour Party) is the Speaker of the House.
In India’s parliamentary democracy, the following holds: “One of the first acts of a newly constituted House is to elect the Speaker. Usually, a member belonging to the ruling party is elected the Speaker. A healthy convention, however, has evolved over the years whereby the ruling party nominates its candidate after informal consultations with the Leaders of other Parties and Groups in the House. This convention ensures that once elected, the Speaker enjoys the respect of all sections of the House” (Office of the Speaker Lok Sabha).
Nevertheless, there is the view of some in Guyana that a simple majority of the MPs to elect the Speaker and Deputy Speaker minus informal inter-party consultations could supersede the parliamentary convention that the Speaker generally should emanate from the ruling party.
The raison d'être of this convention is intended to create an environment, where the elected Speaker would command full authority within parliamentary chambers. I am not sure, that in the first meeting of the 10th Parliament, in a situation of total partisan voting possibly producing an erosion of trust and confidence in that parliamentary environment, whether the elected Speaker and Deputy Speaker can effectively function.
Disregard of this parliamentary convention brings to the fore the issues and intrigue surrounding the December 7, 1964 election in Guyana, when the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) with the most votes, and which could have been the ruling party, was denied the right to constitute the government; in the same way in the current situation, where international parliamentary convention supports the Speaker coming from the ruling party, and where there now seems to have been a breach of this convention.
Let me explain further the situation in 1964 to show the linkage with the present parliamentary imbroglio.
This past December 7, 2011, symbolised 47 years for the notorious 1964 Election Day in British Guiana (now Guyana). The U.S. and British Governments forced this election upon the Guyanese people in a perpetual effort during the Cold War to do away with the PPP from office vis-à-vis a new electoral deal, Proportional Representation (PR). The election produced the following results:
Party Votes, 1964 % Votes, 1961 % Votes, 1964
PPP 109,332 42.6 45.8
PNC 96,567 40.9 40.5
UF 26,612 16.3 12.4
GUMP 1,194
JP 1,334
PEP 224
NLF 177
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WE WON AND WILL WIN AGAIN. 