Briceño Says Michael Peyrefitte Must Go

John Briceño

According to senior parliamentarian and Leader of the Opposition John Briceño, the Speaker of the House has been very biased in moderating House debates.  The P.U.P. claims the Speaker does not stifle the government side, but consistently goes against the other side of the House.

John Briceño, Leader of the Opposition

“It was the voice of the P.U.P. in the house that led the U.D.P. to create the single most undemocratic and unparliamentary day in Belizean democracy.  Not in my twenty-three plus years in the National Assembly did I experience anything close to what I experienced last Friday.  Ladies and gentlemen of the press, the events at last Friday’s meeting of the House of Representatives was an obscene abuse of power by the Speaker with the complicity of the U.D.P. government.  The Speaker showed his bias and unrestrained acts of intimidation against members of the opposition.  He disgraced the office of the Speaker, he brought the house into disrepute and he is a complete disgrace.  The Honorable Michael Peyrefitte has consistently allowed members on the government side to hurl insults, impute improper motives to members of the opposition, use unparliamentary language and even allow members of the government’s side to disparage the good name of people who are not members of the house, while consistently restraining members of the opposition when we attempt to defend our positions.  The Speaker has disrespected the opposition’s role and has subjected elected P.U.P. representatives of the people to new and unprecedented levels of contempt by the U.D.P. administration.  It is clear that on Friday he had no right to call for the naming of the member for Cayo South who had already apologized.  It was the Speaker who was out of order.  This will not be allowed to continue.  Enough!  The Honorable Michael Peyrefitte has completely lost the confidence of the opposition as Speaker.  We therefore demand the immediate removal of Michael Peyrefitte as Speaker.”