Pressure mounts on Trotman to quit as AFC leader

Newly elected Speaker of the National Assembly, Raphael Trotman is under pressure to give up the leadership of the Alliance For Change (AFC) as it seems to be a conflict of interest for him to hold both positions.

There has been no indication from Trotman about this. He edged out former Speaker, Ralph Ramkarran by one vote when the opposition-controlled National Assembly convened on Thursday to elect a Speaker, his deputy and swore in the 65 parliamentarians.

Contacted on the issue on Friday, Trotman said he was pressed with various engagements and could not comment. The Speaker, by convention, severs all ties with his or her political party, as it is considered essential that he/ she be seen as an impartial presiding officer. Up to the time of his election, Trotman was still deeply connected to AFC’s leadership, and was in fact nominated by executive members, Khemraj Ramjattan and Moses Nagamootoo. Their support was crucial in electing him as the A Partnership For National Unity (APNU) had preferred Deborah Backer as the Speaker.

Meanwhile, contacted on the issue, a senior member of the APNU said they would expect Trotman to divorce himself from policy formulation of the AFC as this could influence his handling of matters in the House. “It is something we at APNU thought about and we would expect him to do the honourable thing,” the APNU source said. The official when asked whether Trotman should resign as leader of the AFC, said it would be a natural step, given the position he now holds.

When asked about this issue on Thursday, Ramjattan said he did not know of any conflict of interest for Trotman to be party leader and Speaker of the House.

He however said the issue could be examined at the party’s executive council, since Trotman has already served for two terms as leader of the AFC, and had said that he did not want to be involved in any adversarial role.

The issue of Speakership had been the bone of contention for the three main political parties as each had their own choice. President Donald Ramotar on Thursday slammed the opposition’s move to elect Trotman, saying the decision was against parliamentary conventions, and vows to monitor closely the situation in the House.

In a statement, Ramotar said: “Thursday’s occurrence in the National Assembly is disappointing as the APNU/ AFC opposition squandered an excellent opportunity for us to usher in an era of enhanced political cooperation and consensus.” Ramotar said as president, he had hoped that the elections of a Speaker and Deputy Speaker for the National Assembly would have resulted from genuine dialogue rather than the product of some pre-arranged deal between the two opposition parties.

“The APNU/ AFC collaboration also goes against the convention in parliamentary democracies where the governing party with the largest number of votes and seats secures the Speaker of the National Assembly. This gross violation of an established convention is not a healthy development in this new dispensation,” the president said.

Ramotar said it must be recalled that when the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/ C) had an outright majority over the combined opposition, “we were magnanimous by allowing the opposition to hold the position of Deputy Speaker based on our respect for parliamentary democracy. As president of the Republic, I intend to monitor the situation in the National Assembly very closely,” he asserted.

Trotman after taking the oath of office on January 12, vowed to work in the interest of all parties. In his first address after being elected, he thanked his supporters for demonstrating faith in him while promising to “serve everyone as faithfully as I can as according to the oath that I took.” “I expect that we will work cooperatively, diligently, maturely and of course, set aside our partisan ways, of course, I know that it is easier said than done but I look forward to seeing a vibrant 10th Parliament,” he added.

Trotman said he is hopeful that all parties could put aside their partisan ways and work together for the betterment of all Guyanese. “To the governing side, I expect that we can arrive at consensus that we can set aside the rank of the campaign, the campaign is over and all of us should be happy to be at work and to have been called from our rest.”