Will it be another no-show in Parliament for NDP?

When the House of Assembly meets today, it is unclear if the Opposition members will attend.

Listed on today’s order paper is the presentation of the financial statements of the Carnival Development Corporation for the years ending August 31, 2012, 2013 and 2014.{{more}}

Also down for their first or second readings are several bills, including the Finance Bill 2016, the Companies Bill 2016, the Cybercrime Bill 2016 and the Environmental Health Services (Amendment) Bill 2016.

However, noticeably absent from the order paper are questions from the Opposition members for oral answer by the Government members.

In January, shortly after the present members of Parliament were sworn in, Leader of the Opposition Arnhim Eustace made it clear that although he had been sworn in, he and the other Opposition members do not plan to spend any real time there.

“Because you can be out of Parliament and go into Parliament for five minutes and be out 10 minutes after, so we know what the rules are, so we will deal in accordance to the rules, but we certainly not going to spend any real time in the Parliament,” said Eustace on radio on January 4.

True to his word, since the start of the new Parliament, the Opposition only attended Parliament on the day that they were sworn in, on December 29, 2015.

The rules of the House of Assembly allow for parliamentarians to be absent for six consecutive sittings of the House, without excuse, before a bye-election is triggered.