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THE Electoral College – which comprises all members of the House of Representatives and the Senate – on Thursday rejected a motion filed by Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar for the appointment of a tribunal to investigate the removal of President Paula-Mae Weekes from office.
Persad-Bissessar's motion was in relation to events that led to the collapse of the Police Service Commission (PSC) last month and the failure to send a merit list of candidates for a commissioner of police (CoP) to the House for consideration.
Tunapuna MP Esmond Forde and Mayaro MP Rushton Paray were not present for the meeting of the college or the earlier sitting of the House, both having requested leave from Parliament and that leave being granted. No other members were absent
At the end of the college's meeting (during which members either voted yes. no or abstained when their names where called by the chairman, Speaker Bridgid Annisette-George, the Opposition fell short of the two-thirds majority needed to approve the motion.
A two-thirds vote of the members of both Houses of Parliament equates to 48 votes. The Government has 37 members in the House and Senate combined, while the Opposition has 25. The nine independent senators, Annisette-George and Senate President Christine Kangaloo complete the membership of the college.
[caption id="attachment_920232" align="alignnone" width="1024"] The meeting of the Electoral College on Thursday. Photo courtesy Parliament -[/caption]
Annisette-George announced the motion had been defeated by a vote of 47 against and 24 for. All 24 UNC parliamentarians present voted for the motion. The 36 government parliamentarians present voted against. Also voting against the motion were the nine independent senators, Annisette-George and Kangaloo to complete the 47-vote tally that saw it defeated.
When the independent senators each voted "no" on the motion, UNC parliamentarians cried, "Shame!" Their protests were particularly heightened when Independent Senator Charrise Seepersad (sister of former PSC chairman Bliss Seepersad) voted against the motion. Before the vote was taken, Opposition MPs continued the complaints they raised in the earlier sitting of the House, where the motion was heard.
Annisette-George reminded them the guidelines for the proceedings were clear. She said while there might be disagreement over the procedure being used, all members of the House and Senate agreed the matter was an important one to be dealt with.UNC MPs, including Persad-Bissessar, continued to complain about democracy being undermined, the lack of debate on the motion and whether the vote would be by secret ballot or not.
Opposition MPs and senators loudly protested the presence of Seepersad in the college's membership.
Earlier in the House, Annisette-George dismissed claims of bias levelled against Seepersad and herself in their participation in the proceedings. UNC MPs Khadijah Ameen and Rudranath Indarsingh demanded Annisette-George make a ruling on Seepersad's participation in the college, before the vote was taken. Ameen argued that Seepersad should declare any interest she had in the matter.
Opposition senators Wade Mark, Jayanti Lutchemedial and Anil Roberts complained they had not heard the motion in the House and wanted Persad-Bissessar to read the motion to the college's members before they voted on it.Annisette-George said, "It appears as if we don't want to get on with the business of the day." She reminded the MPs in the college of her ruling earlier in the day in the House on their complaints.
On Seepersad, Annisette-George reminded Opposition parliamentarians that she had ruled she would not debar Seepersad or any other member of the college from its proceedings.
As UNC parliamentarians continued to protest, the vote count from members of the college proceeded, with all government members present loudly voting "No."
When it came their turn, all UNC parliamentarians continued to loudly protest and thump their desks, making it difficult to determine how they voted.
At one point, Annisette-George asked Mark how he was voting, because he could not be heard over the protests of his Opposition colleagues.
Mark replied, "Yes! This is a death to democracy."
UNC parliamentarians reiterated their claims that their microphones were being muted.
With the motion defeated, under Section 36 of the Constitution, Annisette-George has to advise Weekes immediately of this development.
The Opposition cannot re-file the motion during the current parliamentary session.
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