Parliamentarians Can’t Be Compelled to Attend House Meetings
We’re witnessing it in the present administration and we’ve also seen it in the last administration – that elected parliamentarian refuse to attend House meetings and represent the people who put them there. The Area Representative for Queen’s Square, Denise ‘Sista B’ Barrow, remains absent from House meetings for almost every session since she was elected in November 2020. Previously, it was former Orange Walk North Area Representative, Gaspar Vega, who absented himself from House meetings after his family name was brought up in a land scandal while he was Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Natural Resources. In both cases, Barrow and Vega could choose to stay away from the House because the existing Standing Orders cannot compel parliamentarians to attend the sessions. But there is a move afoot to amend part of the instrument that governs how members conduct themselves. In this edition of the Five Point Breakdown, News Five’s Marion Ali takes a look at the standing orders and how it can deal with absentee parliamentarians.
Absenteeism from the House
Denise Barrow
Marion Ali, Reporting
The seat in the House labeled “Honourable Denise Barrow, Queen’s Square” remains empty since the first House meeting after the November 2020 general elections. Denise Barrow, popularly known as “Sista B”, has been a no-show and, at the June thirtieth House meeting, Prime Minister John Briceño raised discontent with the elected parliamentarian’s notable absence.
Prime Minister John Briceño
Prime Minister John Briceño (File: June 30th, 2023)
“Today is the 28th house meeting that we have since we were elected, Madam Speaker. Please, 28th house meetings and the Honorable Member from Queen Square has refused to come to host meetings. I find that disrespectful to this House, disrespectful to the people of Queen Square.”
The PM’s critique of Barrow prompted the Leader of the Opposition, Mesopotamia Area Representative Moses Shyne Barrow, to interrupt the proceedings from his seat, repeatedly yelling quote: “change the Standing Orders.” Barrow later explained to the media that the Queen’s Square Area Representative is not breaking any rule by the current Standing Orders.
Shyne Barrow
Shyne Barrow, Leader of the Opposition
“If the government has a problem with the Standing Orders, change it. She’s complying with the Standing Orders. The Standing Orders require that she gives notice to the Speaker of the House and the Speaker excuses her. If the government objects to that, then they have the majority to change it and require that either she comes to the House or she doesn’t.”
In another setting, Barrow told reporters that the Queen’s Square Area Representative is not conspicuously absent, but merely going by her policy.
Shyne Barrow
Shyne Barrow (File: September 8th, 2023)
“It’s not conspicuous. It’s a matter of her policy, and we accept that and the majority of the government parliamentarians have the ability to change that and whenever they decide to change that then the Member from Queen’s Square will have to comply or else.”
Changing the Standing Orders Governing House Attendance
And before he took his seat that day, PM Briceno was sure to make a request to have the Standing Orders amended to make attendance mandatory.
Prime Minister John Briceño
“Madam Speaker, I am asking the chairman of, that’s responsible for the standing orders, Madam Speaker, to make an amendment to the standing orders so we can deal with any member that refuses to come to house meetings.”
The Loophole in Standing Order 84 On Attendance
It was a request that House Speaker, Valerie Woods made a note of, and when she sat down with News Five to discuss the topic, she explained what the current Standing Orders require on the issue of attendance.
Valerie Woods
Valerie Woods, Speaker of the House
“These standing orders are from about 1967, thereabout, and you may have heard me say either in the House or in some other setting that they do need to be amended for several reasons: modernization to ensure that the rules that are listed actually cover what is being practiced in the National Assembly of Belize. It goes on to say, that if the member, before the end of the last of the amount of sittings that are referred to in the paragraph, which is six consecutive meetings, occurring in the same session, but within a period of no longer than three months – so if the last of those that the member misses, if at that time the member had not received leave of the Speaker, to be absent for that last one, which would be the sixth consecutive, then, the member has to vacate the seat, his or her seat. The National Assembly of Belize has never met every week, but the Standing Orders are premised that you have a house that meets every Friday. So if you have a house that meets every Friday, then you can understand Standing Order 84 being enforceable: six consecutive meetings being missed within a three month period. So either the National Assembly will start meeting every Friday, which I don’t think will occur, or the Standing Orders again, that’s another Standing Order as an example that needs to be amended.”
Voter’s and Opponent’s Concern Over Absenteeism
P.U.P. standard bearer Allan Pollard ran against Barrow in the last general election. He feels strongly about the issue, so does Queen Square voter, Dana Young.
Allan Pollard
Allan Pollard, P.U.P Aspirant, Queen’s Square
“It’s, one, disappointing to see, it’s disheartening, and, most importantly, I think it’s a dangerous act in terms of setting precedent to any representative who would feel as if though they can get away with something like that, and I think it’s something that now, that we’re seeing more people trying to be involved in the process, more people wanting to lead. I think it’s even more sad that, you know, someone who actually has the opportunity to represent the people of their constituency and not show up. I know that people from the constituency have reached out to the party to try to trigger that amendment sooner than later because every house meeting it’s happening, right? And it won’t stop, obviously, and we have – I personally have gotten so many, so many complaints and so many people who are just expressing their disdain with having to see this repeatedly and nothing being done about it.”
Dana Young
Dana Young, Queen’s Square Voter
“She [should] get up and stand up fi we; talk how she feel cause that way we don’t put her there, you know. If she don’t want we again, then we have to say that she go.”
Discussing the Necessary Change
According to Speaker Woods, there is discussion now on the matter of changing the Standing Order to make House Attendance mandatory for elected representatives, but she does not have any control on the matter.
Valerie Woods
“The next question that I was asked is: “Well, why don’t you make the change? You’re the Speaker.” So there’s a quirky little thing about that, and that’s that the Speaker does not sit on any of the House committees, which is a bit of an odd thing. It is dependent and incumbent upon the Standing Orders Committee to look at the suggestions, recommendations, concerns regarding standing orders and then to bring a motion to the House.”
Denise Barrow will not be in the race for the next general elections as Godwin Haylock is the U.D.P’s new Standard Bearer in Queen’s Square. Marion Ali for News Five.
