Yesterday, the constitutional change received a second unanimous vote of approval, this time with 45 votes. On Friday, 46 were present. The parliament was required to vote on two legislation last Friday: the Constitutional Amendment and the Modification of the Electoral Regulations. The parliament did, however, vote twice in favor of the Electoral Regulations modification and once against the constitutional amendment during the vote.
After consulting with the other members, Marinus Bee, the chairman of the National Assembly (DNA), reopened the private session held last Friday to vote once more on the adoption of the modified Constitution. He apologized. “We committed an omission last Friday not to put this bill to the vote,” he said. Bee emphasized that this must be corrected, and took full responsibility for the error.
He indicated that, in accordance with his duties, he had to request permission to allow the vote to take place under the rules of procedure. The ultimate goal is to secure the 2025 elections. He noted that this incident will lead to greater alertness in the future.
“Making a mistake is either bad or a miss,” said NDP party leader Rabin Parmessar, quickly adding that “mistake” is actually a big word. It is important to him that it is corrected in accordance with the rules of procedure.
Asis Gajadien, leader of the VHP, indicated that his group and all members agree with the necessary apologies that the chairman has expressed to society. Gregory Rusland, leader of the NPS, noted that it is not a pleasant development. “Where work is done, mistakes are also made,” Rusland said. It is important to him that the error has been discovered and a decision has been made to correct it. He also emphasized that matters must always proceed according to procedure, which has now happened. “We have worked hard. Nobody gets the blame,” Rusland said.
After the vote, Bee said he was relieved and appreciated that this could be corrected.
