Georgetown: Members of the APNU/AFC coalition who will be heading to Parliament on Friday met and agreed that the General Secretary of the A Partnership for National Unity Joseph Harmon will serve as opposition leader.
Reports indicate that Harmon was the only person nominated for the constitutional position that will be announced when the 12th Parliament is convened.
Former President and Leader of APNU, David Granger, has taken a step back, and will not be returning to Parliament.
PNC Chairman, Volda Lawrence; party General Secretary, Amna Ally; former Chairman, Basil Williams and former General Secretary, Aubrey Norton will not be returning to the House.
Granger has been at the helm of the coalition since 2011, when he was elected Leader of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNC/R) – the largest party in the coalition.
However, senior functionaries of APNU and AFC, namely Raphael Trotman, Khemraj Ramjattan, David Patterson, Dr. Karen Cummings, Cathy Hughes, Nicolette Henry, Dawn Hastings-Williams, Annette Ferguson and Hemraj Rajkumar are slated to return to Parliament, likely as front benchers.
Some of the other persons who are said to be on the list, which was submitted to GECOM, include former Magistrate, Geeta Chandan-Edmond; Attorney-at-Law, Roysdale Forde; Sherod Duncan; Juretha Fernandes; Trade Unionist, Coretta McDonald; and Ganesh Mahipaul. Most of those persons were actively campaigning for the coalition during the lead-up to the March 2, General and Regional Elections.
Under the revised Cummingsburg Accord, the AFC will only get 30 per cent of the seats secured by the coalition in the National Assembly based on a new 70:30 ratio agreed upon with APNU. The formula will also guide the allocation of seats at the level of the Regional Democratic Councils (RDCs). Under the old accord, the formula was 60:40.
There has been no sitting of the National Assembly since May, 2019. This was due mainly to the passage of a motion of no-confidence against the former APNU+AFC Government.
A date for the convening of parliament has not been set, but upon their return to Parliament, MPs will elect a Speaker to preside over the proceedings of the House. The Speaker oversees the administration of the House and chairs several committees, including the Parliamentary Management Committee.
The Speaker is also the spokesperson and representative of the National Assembly in its relations with the executive and other bodies outside of the House. The last Speaker of the National Assembly was Dr. Barton Scotland.
The passage of a National Budget will also be high on the agenda, as the country is already eight months into the year and is faced with the challenges caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
As a result of COVID-19, Parliament will be held at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, Minister responsible for Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira has confirmed.
Teixeira explained that to minimise the risk of infection, the Parliament will also reduce the number of staff and invitees during the sitting while ministers and MPs will be seated in accordance with COVID-19 guidelines.
The parliamentary affairs minister noted that the first sitting is yet to be decided, but as part of the coronavirus regime, a number of restrictions and measures will be in place.
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