National Assembly suspends eight opposition MPs

On Thursday, the National Assembly officially passed the report of the Committee of Privileges, which recommended the suspension of eight Opposition Members of Parliament (MP).

Parliamentary Affairs and Governance Minister, Gail Teixeira urged the now suspended MPs to take the time to sit and rethink their actions to degrade the hallowed halls of the House on December 29.

“I hope that you will not see this as just another battle to win, but to sit and think quietly ‘Was it all worth it? What badge of honour have you gotten out of this behaviour? What example have you given to the Guyanese people and young people who saw that tape?” Teixeira encouraged the MPs.

The minister noted that with the eyes of international observers on Guyana for the passage of the historic National Resource Fund Bill, 2021 (NRF), Opposition MPs attempted to derail the sitting.

As such, she argued that the chambers of the National Assembly were desecrated, not only by the forceful removal of the mace, but by the severe damage to $300,000 worth of audio and visual equipment of the Arthur Chung Conference Centre.

Subsequently, the Privileges Committee met and recommended suspension for the following MPs: Sherod Duncan, Christopher Jones, Ganesh Mahipaul, Vinceroy Jordan, Annette Ferguson, Natasha Singh-Lewis, Maureen A. Philadelphia, and Tabitha Halley.