BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, Mar. 01.2018 - AFTER being suspended from the National Assembly for 10 days and subsequently writing to the Speaker, Michael Perkins, Opposition MP. Konris Maynard has received a response and has placed the matter before his lawyers.
Maynard was suspended from the Assembly in February for what the Speaker described as gross disrespect.
Maynard, members of the St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party and supporters, picketed Government Headquarters before the recent sitting of the House.
While addressing reporters yesterday at the party’s monthly press conference, the Constituency Three Parliamentary Representative disclosed that he has received a response from the Speaker, however, it failed to address what he claimed are errors.
During a recent SKNVibes News interview, the MP contended that Speaker Perkins erred in his suspension since he was never suspended previously, nor was there a vote to have him suspended from the Assembly during the sitting in question.
“Yes, I did receive a response from the speaker. In that response the speaker did not address any of the pertinent issues which I raised: one, that he could not unilaterally suspend me without a vote from the House; that I was not before that sitting suspended for five days, therefore could not suspend me for 10 days under the rules. Effectively there was no vote ever to suspend my service from the parliament.”
According to the MP, the Speaker responded only to say, “he soberly reflected on the conduct during the assembly and that he is standing by his ruling of my suspension”.
The issue has moved from writing to the Speaker and is in the hands of the lawyers, Maynard disclosed, pointing out that the attorneys will establish the most effective course to correct and right the alleged wrongdoing of the parliament.
Speaker Perkins indicated that because Maynard was previously suspended for five days, the second naming will see him being suspended for 10 days.
But the MP stated that the minutes of the assembly will reflect that he was never suspended for the period in question.
