By Prior Beharry
THE Opposition United National Congress (UNC) has filed a motion in the Parliament to remove President Paula-Mae Weekes from office.
This was revealed by Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar at a press conference at her Charles Street, Port-of-Spain office on Friday.
The motion filed in her name under Section 36 of the Constitution is signed by the other 18 UNC MPs.
The motion, that requires a two-thirds of members of both Houses of Parliament, seeks to establish a tribunal to investigate the removal of President Weekes.
Persad-Bissessar said while it was highly likely that the motion will fail since the UNC does not have the majority in the Parliament, it will serve to show a president who has lost legitimacy in the eyes of the public.
She said, “This is an unprecedented move as no such procedure was ever triggered in the history of our country since Independence. It is my view that this motion is warranted having regard for the circumstances in the public domain.”
Persad-Bissessar said, “The only way to hold a President accountable is by a motion for her removal to the Parliament.
“If the motion is passed, a special tribunal will investigate the facts and report back to the Parliament, who will then decide on those findings and make a decision. So it is a process, and we have initiated this process.
“We believe strongly that it is in the public interest to set this process in motion.”
She said such an investigation was warranted since it will reveal who was the public official who met the President on August 12 and interfered with the process of delivering a list of nominees for police commissioner to the President.
Persad-Bissessar said it will also clear up the vaguely drafted affidavit of acting director of Personnel Administration Corey Harrison who stated that the list of nominees for CoP was submitted to the President on August 12.
She said President Weekes will also have to explain who she met at President’s House on August 12 and why she has refused to issue the relevant notification to Parliament about the list of nominees by the Police Service Commission (PolSC) for the office of CoP as required by Section 123(4) of the Constitution.
AZPNews.com was told that the Office of President will issue a statement shortly.
