PHILIPSBURG–The new Parliament was scheduled to sit in its first plenary public meeting in the General Assembly Chamber of Parliament House at 12.30pm Easter Monday, April 2. However, the session was postponed on Friday until further notice.
This postponement does not affect the swearing-in of the 15 new and re-elected members of the “Easter Monday” Parliament by Governor Eugene Holiday on April 2.
The appointment of the new chairperson and vice-chairperson of Parliament is the only agenda point for the postponed meeting.
The meeting will be chaired by outgoing Parliament Chairwoman re-elected Member of Parliament Sarah Wescot-Williams. According to the Constitution, Wescot-Williams chairs the meeting as the chairwoman from the preceding year.
Article 57 of the Constitution states that Parliament shall appoint a chairperson and a deputy chairperson from among its members. Until such an appointment has taken place, the chairperson or deputy appointed for the preceding term shall act as the chairperson if that person is a member of the new Parliament as is the case with Wescot-Williams.
The article further states that in the absence of such a person, the member of the new Parliament who, among the MPs having served the longest in Parliament, is the oldest member in years shall act as the president. If there is no such person, the oldest member in years shall serve as the president.
Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/75206-update-meeting-to-appoint-new-parliament-chair-put-off
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