Reviewing no-confidence vote “out of my jurisdiction” – Isaacs

Clerk of the National Assembly, Sherlock Isaacs, said that reviewing the No- confidence Motion that was passed in the National Assembly on Friday last would be out of his jurisdiction nor can he pronounce on the validity or invalidity of said motion. On Friday he said that “it is simply his responsibility to send resolutions to the movers of the motion, which he did in the case of the No-confidence Motion.”
Oh Thursday, Isaacs has confirmed the validity of the Opposition-sponsored no-confidence motion, telling Guyana Times that he has certified the vote.
“Not me, period, that is not my duty,” the Clerk outlined. “Once approved, the motion becomes a resolution and I’m required to send the resolution to the mover of the motion among other persons which is what I did,” Isaacs explained.
Later on, the Clerk of the National Assembly issued a letter responding to accusations he said former Alliance For Change (AFC) Member of Parliament Charrandas Persaud made against him, saying Isaacs stopped the vote during the division of the No-confidence Motion after the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change Member of Parliament said “yes”.
Noting that he has always performed his duties with professionalism and impartiality, Isaacs said he actually paused “due to the uproar” after the now expelled AFC member’s vote.
“Mr Charrandas Persaud may be a lawyer but Parliamentary Practice may evade him. Parliamentary Practice has taught me that when there is disruption in the House during a division, the Clerk must stop taking the division. I therefore had no option but to stop and to ensure that the vote of the member was correctly taken,” Isaacs clarified.
Much of Guyana was left stunned but the dust is now settling over last week’s shock passage of the no-confidence vote against the coalition Administration which came via Persaud’s vote in favour of the motion. However, some observers are questioning the motion’s validity even as the vote has already been certified, which cleared the path for elections to be held in three months’ time.
Persaud, who became a parliamentarian following the May 2015 elections said he was dissatisfied with AFC MPs being ‘yes men’. The Berbician had resigned from the party in September 2013 but would later face the media and indicate that his resignation was nonexistent.
The lawyer said his vote was one of conscience since he was tired of towing party lines.
Persaud left the country on Saturday morning after saying he was threatened both online and by one of his colleagues in the National Assembly. A total of 10 MPs had debated the motion and when a vote of division was called, Persaud’s vote changed the numbers to 33 in favour of the motion versus Government’s 32 votes against the motion.
Government was previously confident that it would have won the vote.