PM proposes Parliamentary Commission
Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves has proposed the formation of a Parliamentary Commission to deal with among other things, the responsibilities of the Prerogative of Mercy.
Dr Gonsalves said that this Commission will include parliamentarians and persons from civil society. This, as he again offered an olive branch to the spirit of the idea for civil societyâs involvement in parliament.{{more}}
He also championed the idea of having persons from civil society being allowed to contribute speeches to various debates in parliament, at the invitation of the Prime Minister, the Opposition Leader or the Speaker of the House.
Dr Gonsalves was speaking at the start of the meeting of the committee of the whole house of parliament, which met last Thursday, August 16 to further discuss and fine tune the final report of the Constitutional Review Commission.
During the first session of the committeeâs meeting, which was open to the media, Dr Gonsalves admitted that while they didnât accept the CRCâs proposal for civil society participation in parliament and the formation of a National Advisory Counsel of Elders, parliamentarians could have voiced this disapproval in a better way.
The opposition New Democratic Party (NDP) boycotted the session in protest of certain matters that the Leader of the Opposition wrote the Prime Minister about.
Dr Gonsalves, Speaker of the House Hendrick Alexander, and Constitutional Review Steering Committee (CRSC) chairman, Parnel Campbell all condemned the NDPâs action. (KJ)
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