Basseterre, St. Kitts, January 20, 2017 (SKNIS): A Motion of No Confidence filed by Leader of the Opposition, Honourable Dr. Denzil Douglas, citing bias in the conducting of the House, on the part of Speaker of the National Assembly, the Honourable Michael Perkins, has been rejected on January 20, the first Sitting for 2017.
Speaker Perkins made the announcement that the Motion of No Confidence was rejected under Section 27 (3) of the Standing Orders of the National Assembly of Saint Christopher and Nevis; the section treats with Form of Notice.
Section 27 (3) states: “If the Speaker is of the opinion that any notice of motion which has been received by the Clerk infringes the provisions of any Standing Order, or is in any other way out of order, he or she may direct (a) that the member concerned be informed that the notice of motion is out of order; or (b) that the notice of motion be entered in the Order Book with such alterations as he or she may direct.”
The Speaker also read 34 (8) which states: “An amendment must not be substantially a direct negative of the original proposition or any amendment thereto.”
Also, Speaker Perkins made the announcement that the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) has invited St. Kitts and Nevis to host the 63rd Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference (CPC) in June of this year following the CPC held in Dhaka, Bangladesh, from September 1-10, 2016, under the theme “Collaborative Commonwealth: Unity, Diversity, and Common Challenges”.
The CPA connects, develops, promotes and supports Parliamentarians and their staff to identify benchmarks of good governance and the implementation of the enduring values of the Commonwealth
