Leader of the Opposition Says Expulsion of PUP Senator Was Unauthorized

As we said, the Speaker of the House, Michael Peyrefitte, instructed police to remove Senator Patrick Andrews from the gallery of the National Assembly building during last Friday’s sitting of the House. The sitting proceeded, but the debate did not take place on an issue that has been at the center of national discourse for months.  This morning, during its press conference at Independence Hall, Party Leader Francis Fonseca reiterated the Opposition’s view that Andrews’ immediate expulsion from the meeting contravened the standing orders of the House since Andrews is not a stranger to the House.

Francis Fonseca

Francis Fonseca, P.U.P. Leader

“On Friday at the Special Sitting of the House of Representatives, the Opposition members were obliged to walk out of the sitting following what I viewed as an abuse of authority by the Speaker of the House in ordering the summary removal of Senator Patrick Andrews from the house gallery by the police.  The standing orders, and it is very important for the Belizean people to understand these things, the standing orders of the house make it very clear that the speaker can only summarily order the withdrawal of a stranger from the precincts of the National Assembly under standing order eighty-seven: the removal of a member of the National Assembly cannot, cannot be carried out in the same manner as the removal of a stranger and cannot be done summarily.  So the legislative assembly, the powers and privileges act makes clear that a stranger is any person other than a member or officer of the National Assembly.  So Senator Patrick Andrews is not a stranger, he is a member of the National Assembly.  The Speaker of the House therefore had no authority to order the summary removal of Senator Andrews from the House precincts.  In so doing, the speaker, acting on response to Honorable Michael Finnegan, has shown once again his disregard for his role as speaker and the rules which govern the National Assembly.   And this is in keeping with the U.D.P. government’s continued disrespect for the laws of our country and their ruthless determination as an administration to make an amend laws to suit themselves.”