TRINIDAD and Tobago may be in for another three months of the State of Emergency (SoE).
The first session of the 12th Parliament begins on August 25 and top of the agenda on the Parliament’s Order Paper is the extension of the SoE that is expected to be laid by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley.
This means that the country could remain under the SoE until late November as government seeks to retain the strict Covid-19 measure.
The SoE was first implemented on May 15, in the height of rising Covid-19 positive cases and was expected to run until May 30. On May 24, it was extended up until August 29.
The extension requires a simple majority to be proclaimed.
The motion states that according to the Constitution, the President may from time to time make a Proclamation declaring that a state of public emergency exists and before its expiration the Proclamation may be extended by resolution supported by a simple majority vote of the House of Representatives, so however that no extension exceeds three months and the extensions do not in the aggregrate exceed six months.
Should it exceed six months, Opposition support will be required.
