Clerk of the House writes Opposition members

The Opposition members of the House of Assembly have been officially advised that should their absence from meetings of the House continue without excuse, their seats will become vacant.

In letters dated June 1, Clerk of the House of Assembly Nicole Herbert drew to the attention of the seven elected Opposition members and their two nominated members, the provisions of Standing Order 74(2).{{more}}

The Clerk, in her letters, said that her records indicate that the members in question have been absent from three consecutive meetings of the House of Assembly without the requisite leave of the Speaker.

Leader of the Opposition Arnhim Eustace; members of parliament Godwin Friday, Terrance Ollivierre, St Clair Leacock, Daniel Cummings, Roland Matthews and Nigel Stephenson; and senators Jules Ferdinand and Marcia Barnwell have been absent from the Second, Third and Fourth Meetings of the House held between January 29 and May 31.

All nine have been written to by the Clerk, although only the elected members hold seats.

Standing Order 74(2) states: “If any Senator or Elected Member is absent from the House for more than three consecutive meetings without the leave of the Speaker obtained in writing before the expiration of that period, the Clerk shall, immediately after the third such meeting direct the attention of the Member concerned to the provisions of this Order. If the Member continues to be absent for the next three meetings then, unless before the expiration of the last of those meetings the Member has obtained the leave of the Speaker in writing or unless the House upon motion made without notice has granted him leave of absence, he shall vacate his seat under section 29 (3) (a) of the Constitution.”

Should these seats become vacant, bye-elections would have to be called in those constituencies.

The Opposition members have been staying away from meetings of the House to protest the results of the December 9, 2015 general elections. They refuse to accept the legitimacy of the Government, which they say was stolen from them.