Determined to have a Leader of the Opposition elected soon, the We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) party has written a number of Regional and International bodies, including the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), over what it believes is an attempt by the Speaker of the National Assembly to stall the election of the Opposition Leader to appease the governing People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C).

December 3 marked one month since the first sitting of the 13^th Parliament was held, and to date, a meeting of the Members of the Parliamentary Opposition has not been convened by the Speaker to elect the Opposition Leader.

At a press conference today at WIN’s head office, Member of Parliament, Tabitha Sarabo-Halley said by failing to convene the meeting, Speaker Manzoor Nadir is undermining the integrity of parliamentary democracy.

“We have written to CARICOM, OAS, IPU, CPA and all of the Heads of Missions on this issue. The continued refusal of the Speaker of the National Assembly to fulfill this obligation undermines the integrity of parliamentary democracy, obstructs critical oversight functions and threatens the balance of power essential to good governance,” MP Sarabo-Halley said.

The Speaker has remained silent on the issue. However, on the sidelines of the first sitting of the National Assembly, the Clerk of the National Assembly, Sherlock Isaacs, acknowledged that the Speaker had received a number of correspondences from WIN.

MP Sarabo-Halley said WIN wants full adherence to the Constitutional requirements, warning again that the party is preparing to pursue necessary legal remedies.

With a total of 16 seats in the National Assembly, WIN has cemented itself as the country’s main opposition. Its Leader, Azruddin Mohamed, who along with his father, has been indicted in a Florida Court on a number of charges liked to money laundering and tax evasion, is in line to be the next Opposition Leader.

But that’s not the only issue facing WIN.

The election of the Region 10 Regional Chairman and Vice Chairman has been stalled for over two months. WIN’s Candidate Mark Goring and APNU Candidate, Dominique Blair, tied for the position of Regional Chairman when the election was held on October 10.

Since then, there has been no movement by the Region 10 Clerk of Council, Dwight John, to have the meeting reconvened to break the gridlock.

But WIN believes that the situation in Region 10 is the product of a deliberate political posture by the Minister of Local Government, Priya Manickchand, although Minister Manickchand has made clear that she has no role to play in the election of the Regional Chairman.

“For more than a month, the Regional Executive Officer of Region 10, who reports directly to the Minister, has refused to reconvene the statutory meeting to complete the election of the Chairman and Vice-Chairman. This is not a minor procedural delay. This is an obstruction of the lawful functioning of an entire Regional Democratic Council. It is a direct interference with the constitutional right of the people of Region 10 to have their elected representatives take office and begin their work. Yet the Minister, instead of exercising her clear authority to instruct her subordinate to obey the law, has chosen to say publicly that the process is “out of her hands.” That statement alone reveals the depth of the hypocrisy at play. The Minister has had more than enough time, and more than enough power, to ensure that the REO performs his duties,” MP Sarabo-Halley said.

According to her, Minister Manickchands refusal to act is a clear indication that the delay is politically motivated and fully aligned with the Government’s strategy of controlling local organs by paralysing them.

MP Sarabo-Halley said Region 10 has been left without a functioning Chairman and Vice-Chairman, and for the Government it is business as usual.

This, she lamented, is not service to the people.

“If the Minister were genuinely committed to democracy and the rule of law, the election process in Region 10 would have been completed weeks ago. Her Ministry would have issued a directive to the REO the same day the meeting was illegally suspended. Instead, the Ministry’s silence has enabled the REO’s inaction and created a constitutional vacuum in a region where the electorate has made its choice clear,” MP Sarabo-Halley said.

Stating that the people of Region 10 deserves better, the WIN MP said when a minister refuses to instruct her own subordinate to carry out a lawful statutory responsibility, it is not an administrative lapse, but rather political interference by omission.

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