By Sue-Ann Wayow
THE decision to not allow any debate in the motion to remove President Paula-Mae Weekes from office is a war on democracy and an abuse of power says Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar.
She has written to House Speaker Brigid Annisette-George asking for three stipulations ahead of Thursday’s historic extraordinaire sitting of Parliament.
In the letter dated Wednesday, Persad-Bissessar asked for:
- The disqualification of Annisette-George as chair of the electoral proceedings;
- The annulation of the initial guidelines issued; and
- Independent Senator Charisse Seepersad be advised to desist from participating.
Seepersad is the sister of former Police Service Commission (PolSC) Bliss Seepersad.
Persad-Bissessar stated, “It is exceedingly significant that the matter we seek to debate involves what may very well be a subversion of the Constitution by political interference with the Police Service Commission, which is supposed to be independent. It is absurd to ask members of the House and Senate to vote on such an important motion without a debate. The absence of a debate presupposes that Members have come to vote with predetermined positions. Is it that you have assumed that Members will toe party lines and Independent Senators will be loyal to the President because she was responsible for their appointments? Surely, Members should come to listen to the debate with an open mind, receptive to arguments and suasion – to presume otherwise breaches the fundamental and sacred tenets of our democracy.”
She continued, “On the heels of the Section 36 motion being placed before Parliament, we are now met with Guidelines from your good self, which have stifled all debate and frustrated the purport and intent of Section 36 of the Constitution. This is an abuse of power.”
Conflict of interest
Persad-Bissessar said Annisette-George was attorney general in 2009, and asked if she would be impartial enough to chair over such motion given her Government ties.
She said that the United National Congress filed and debated on June 24, 2009 a motion to annul the 2009 Order. The then PNM Government defeated the motion, and the 2009 Order remained in effect until the High Court invalidated it on October 14, 2021 because it breached the Constitution.
“The invalidity of the 2009 Order has exacerbated the current constitutional crisis and has left our country without an acting Commissioner of Police and a collapsed Police Service Commission. All of these matters raise a serious conflict of interest as the public will not have confidence in your ability to be fair and impartial in circumstances where your Order precipitated the very crisis that has led us to the brink of this disastrous precipice,” she stated.
Is former PolSC chairman sister allowed to participate?
Persad-Bissessar stated that given the unfortunate events of the PolSC which included the resignation of its chairman Bliss Seepersad whose sister is an Independent Senator, she should not be allowed to vote.
“This close familial connection poses a serious conflict of interest, and Senator Charrise Seepersad should do the honourable thing,” she wrote.
