Dominica’s Opposition Leader, Lennox Linton
The United Workers Party would like at least one meeting of Parliament per month to effectively deal with the people’s business says Dominica’s Opposition Leader Lennox Linton.
All members of Team Dominica, the six who were elected and the four nominated as Senators, are fully ready for Parliament.
UWP Leader Lennox Linton said for Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit to assume that the Opposition is not ready for its Parliamentary responsibilities, is conveying a wrong and misleading impression.
What the Prime Minister needs to do, is to make himself available and to ensure that Parliament meets on a monthly basis, to effectively do the people’s business, Linton said.
He added that the length of the Parliamentary meeting is not the most important thing since Parliament could meet for one day or for several days, as its business requires. However, the critical thing is for Parliament to meet at least monthly, so that the business of the people is brought to Parliament on a timely basis.
The House being called to meet on a monthly basis, is not something beyond the Skerrit administration. When Mr. Skerrit and the Speaker of the House wanted to declare the Opposition Seats held by Hon. Edison James of the Marigot Constituency and that of Hon. Hector John of the Salisbury Constituency vacant, the Parliament was summoned to meet monthly.
Standing Orders of the House of Assembly Rule 11, mandates that the first sitting of every session of the House shall by Proclamation be held on such day as the President shall appoint, in accordance with section 53 of the Constitution and thereafter the sittings of the House during any session shall be held on such days as the House may from time determine or in the absence of such decision, as the Speaker may direct.
What happens in reality however, is that the meetings of the Parliament are summoned by the Speaker of the House, upon instructions from the Prime Minister.
Further, Linton hopes that Skerrit will not open a “political hunting season” on the Opposition in Parliament. Instead, he expects the Opposition will be given full respect and afforded their full Constitutional rights, through the Speaker of the House, to make their contributions to debate, law making and policy advancement in an orderly atmosphere where the standards of Parliament can be lifted for better understanding of issues and a greater level of public interest.
Linton said the Opposition has a duty to speak out when the contribution it is seeking to make in the public interest is obstructed or interfered with in or out of Parliament.
He pointed to instances of attempted obstruction where gatherings of UWP suppers have attracted armed police officers in what appears to be an attempt to scare them.
This is directly in contravention to the maturing democracy Skerrit talks about, Linton said, declaring that he considers Dominica a stifled democracy, rapidly becoming a “maturing dictatorship”.
Linton said if Skerrit wants Dominica to be a maturing democracy, then he has to call off the police officers who have been instructed to intimidate citizens who want to engage in peaceful protest action about matters they have a right to protest.
“That’s what a democracy is all about,” Linton said.
A UWP delegation that went to the Electoral Commission last Friday and on Monday was met by blockades and armed police officers for reasons which remain unclear.
Source: http://spiceislander.com
