Franklin: House vote on emergency extension wrong

“Totally illegal!” That’s how Opposition Senator Caswell Franklyn has described Government’s latest effort last Friday to extend the state of emergency.

The outspoken trade unionist contended that after Government failed in its initial attempt to pass the legislation because it did not get the required minimum 16 votes in Parliament, it was unlawful for the resolution to be recommitted just minutes later.

Friday’s extraordinary sitting disrupted Parliament’s usual Easter break in an attempt to extend the state of emergency for five months from April 27 to September 26. Opposition Leader Joseph Atherley took issue with the first vote which was subsequently declared invalid by House Speaker Arthur Holder.

Attorney General Dale Marshall again presented the resolution which was then passed by the majority of MPS.
In an interview with Barbados TODAY, Franklyn maintained that it was unlawful for the resolution to be passed in the way that it was.

Standing Order 28 (4), Rules of Debate states: “It shall be out of order to reflect on any vote of the House or attempt to reconsider any specific matter upon which the House has come to a conclusion during the current session, except upon a substantive motion for revision.”

“All that says is that if you vote on it already you can’t come back again unless you are voting to repeal it or cancel it and they did not do that,” Franklyn said.

“What the Government did, the Government needed 16 votes to pass that, if they didn’t have 16 votes or 16 members in the House, the Leader of Government Business should have noticed that and should not have called the vote, but they called the vote and it failed and once it’s failed you can’t come back.

“They can only bring it back in another form or you have to wait for the next session which means you have to prorogue Parliament,” Franklyn added.