Opposition Out!

Opposition Out!
Speaker of the House of Assembly Halson Moultrie. (FILE PHOTO)

House Speaker, Halson Moultrie, suspended all opposition members for at least two sittings of Parliament during, what members deemed, an extraordinary session Wednesday morning.

This followed a vote to singularly suspend Englerston MP, Glenys Hanna Martin, who was named and suspended last week.

Cat Island, Rum Cay and Salvador MP, Philip ‘Brave’ Davis; Exumas and Ragged Island MP, Chester Cooper, and Mangrove Cay and South Andros MP, Picewell Forbes, were all chastised by the Speaker when they refused to take their seats.

Davis had attempted to intervene on the Speaker’s ruling in relation to Hanna Martin’s suspension but was not allowed to do so by the Speaker.

Davis, Cooper and Forbes walked out of the halls of Parliament as Moultrie explained to House members the reasoning behind his decision.

“The speaker now orders that the three members withdraw from this Parliament and are not eligible to enter this Parliament again for the next two sittings,” Moultrie said.

Bamboo Town MP, Renward Wells, then moved the motion to suspend Hanna Martin. The motion was seconded by Southern Shores MP, Frankie Campbell. A number of House members also applauded the speaker for his decision to suspend the member for her “inappropriate behavior” including Social Services Minister, Lanisha Rolle, who said she believes the behavior displayed by the Englerston MP need to be “nipped in bud.”

Davis, Cooper and Forbes were the only members to object to Hanna Martin’s suspension.

Moultrie said there is no need to vote on the suspensions the other opposition members.

His ruling, he added, was based on Rule 88, which governs Parliament. He informed House members that in his investigation, he also discovered three variations of the rules that govern the House and has since ordered an inquiry into the matter.

About Genea Noel

Genea Noel is the news director and weeknight TV news anchor at Eyewitness News. She began working at Eyewitness News in 2018 as the newsroom editor and was subsequently promoted during her tenure. As a household name who graces the screens of thousands of Bahamian homes each night, Genea has racked up an impressive five Bahamas Press Club awards, including “The Cyril Stevenson Award for Outstanding Political Journalism” (2020), “Best Studio Live Producer” (2020) and “Best Newscast” (2018).