Georgetown: Government’s request for a reversal in the passage of the No-confidence motion was Thursday denied by Speaker of the National Assembly Dr. Barton Scotland.
He said that it is best that a court ruling put the issue to rest and such a ruling would guide his future actions.
The Speaker acknowledged that he does have the authority to revisit and reverse rulings, but choose not to, but rather conform to the constitution.
He quoted Article 106 (7) of the Constitution which dictates that elections be held in three months.
Dr. Scotland said since the December 21, 2018 ruling, he has received solicited and unsolicited advice on how to treat with the vote. One of which suggests that for the No-Confidence Motion to be passed it must require majority votes of elected Members of the National Assembly.
This includes a mathematical half of the current 65 MPs plus one, which means 34 votes would be needed for the motion to be passed.
This, he noted, is supported by Article 168 of the Constitution which states, “Save as otherwise provided by this Constitution, all questions proposed for decision in the National Assembly shall be determined by a majority of the votes of the members present and voting.”
The government has indicated that it will seek legal settlement if the ruling by the Speaker is not in its favour.
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