The 2011 General and
Regional Elections in my homeland Guyana loom. Campaigns and things electoral are rather tame, orderly and peaceful.
Thank Heavens for that! Up to now…
Beginning in this edition, TRAKKER/ALLAN BEING FRANK will discuss the elections scene – in a light-hearted manner. Serious issues will also be touched on too, though we’ll try not to take sides.
The candidates and their parties yearn to get into Parliament to govern the Guyanese People. So let’s PEEK INTO THIS GUYANA PARLIAMENT.
Just What is Parliament?
Parliament is made up of the President of Guyana and the National Assembly. Parliament is also the Executive and Legislative branches of Government.
Sometimes called the LEGISLATURE, Parliament is the collective part of the government of the Nation in that it consists of elected members who represent the interests of all the people of Guyana.
The State of Guyana is governed or administered by three branches of government. There is the LEGISLATURE [the Parliament’s National Assembly], the EXECUTIVE [the President, the Cabinet of Ministers and their Ministries] and the JUDICIARY [the various Courts of Law].
The Parliament is the most important and influential branch of government as it makes and changes the country’s laws – including the highest law of the land – the Constitution.
MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT [MP’S] make up the National Assembly. Sixty-five [65] of them are elected by the people of Guyana at National or General Elections held every five[5] years.
After the elections, the political Parties choose persons to become Members of Parliament, occupying seats which the Parties were allocated in the National Assembly.
The Role of the National Assembly [of Parliament] falls into three main categories — LEGISLATIVE, FINANCIAL AND OVERSIGHT.
The LEGISLATIVE role is to consider, debate and approve, amend or reject Bills intended to become LAW[S].
The FINANCIAL role is to keep government ministries operational within approved budgets.
The OVERSIGHT role is to ensure that the business of government is managed in a TRANSPARENT AND ACCOUNTABLE manner, in keeping with its rules and procedures.
The National Assembly also discusses unscheduled urgent matters of national significance, from time to time.
Meetings of the National Assembly Parliament are called SITTINGS. A sitting is the period when the Assembly meets in the Parliament CHAMBER to consider and debate MOTIONS AND BILLS submitted to it. In Guyana, sittings of Parliament usually begin at 14:00 hrs [2:00 pm] and can go on as long as 22:00 hrs [10:00pm]. Sittings are open to the public who are accommodated in the PUBLIC GALLERY.
HOW IS THE BUSINESS OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF THE PARLIAMENT CONDUCTED?
This will be explained in many steps. Firstly however, are the Assembly’s STANDING ORDERS.
The Constitution of Guyana empowers the Assembly to make its own RULES as to how to conduct or manage its business [Rules of Procedure]. These rules are known as STANDING ORDERS. The STANDING ORDERS are the procedures for the Assembly’s meetings or sittings, and for the order of business, the introduction of BILLS and all other business of the “House” — the National Assembly.
WHO CONTROLS, OR PRESIDES OVER, THE PARLIAMENT’S SITTINGS AND BUSINESS?
Parliament’s business [during its sittings] is chaired and conducted by the SPEAKER. The Speaker can be an ELECTED Member of the National Assembly, but if he is not, just by virtue of being elected to the Office of Speaker, he becomes a Member of Parliament.
The Speaker’s functions and authority include responsibility for the rules of order ins the Assembly and the Committee [of the whole assembly]. The Speaker has the authority to have members continue or discontinue their presentations; to instruct the withdrawal of disorderly members; to allow or disallow Questions or Motions; to remind members of all the technicalities inherent in some rules and to generally enforce all of the Assembly’s Standing Orders.
(TO BE CONTINUED)
You must be logged in to post a comment.