BASSETERRE – Leader of the Opposition in the St Kitts and Nevis National Assembly Dr Denzil Douglas was ejected from the National Assembly Chambers yesterday, the first Sitting for the New Year.
Speaker Michael Perkins said the behaviour of the former prime minister and parliamentarian with more than 20 years’ experience was “disrespectful and outrageous”.
Dr Douglas reportedly interrupted Perkins several times, shouting while the Speaker was on his feet and ruling on the Motion of No confidence filed against him and announced at the last sitting of Parliament in December last year.
Opposition Senator Nigel Carty was also kicked out of Parliament on two occasions, the last time on December 8, 2016, for what Speaker Perkins referred to as a concerted and calculated effort to disrupt the Parliament and bring it into chaos to sabotage the people’s business from being debated.
Dr Douglas had cited bias on the part of Speaker in conducting the business of the House.
Perkins announced the Motion of No Confidence was rejected under Section 27 (3) of the Standing Orders of the National Assembly of Saint Christopher and Nevis; the section treats with Form of Notice.
Section 27 (3) states: “If the Speaker is of the opinion that any notice of motion which has been received by the Clerk infringes the provisions of any Standing Order, or is in any other way out of order, he or she may direct (a) that the member concerned be informed that the notice of motion is out of order; or (b) that the notice of motion be entered in the Order Book with such alterations as he or she may direct.”
The Speaker also read 34 (8) which states: “An amendment must not be substantially a direct negative of the original proposition or any amendment thereto.”
Also, Speaker Perkins made the announcement that the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) has invited St Kitts and Nevis to host the 63rd Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference (CPC) in June of this year following the CPC held in Dhaka, Bangladesh, from September 1 to10, 2017, under the theme “Collaborative Commonwealth: Unity, Diversity, and Common Challenges”.
The CPA connects, develops, promotes and supports Parliamentarians and their staff to identify benchmarks of good governance and the implementation of the enduring values of the Commonwealth. (SKNIS)
