Harris Files High Court Action To Compel Speaker To Table MONC

(ZIZ News)– The Hon. Dr. Timothy Harris filed an action with the High Court this morning (tuesday) which will seek to compel the Speaker Of The House to table the Motion Of No Confidence filed against the government.

He outlined the purpose of his action in a pre-recorded statement to the nation after leaving the court.

“Today I have filed an action in the High Court seeking among other things an order directing the Speaker to schedule my Motion of No Confidence filed on the 15th of September 2014 for debate at the next sitting of the National Assembly and to ensure that this Motion of No Confidence is debated and voted on in priority over all other business of the National Assembly,” he said.

In the five-minute long address, it appeared that Dr. Harris admitted that the multiple motions of no confidence have been filed with a view to forcing the government into elections. This has long been the view of numerous political commentators and attorneys.

“And it would not wish to hide from an election. If this government had a modicum of decency or confidence in itself it would have already allowed the people to express their democratic wills through the polls in free and fair elections,” he said.

The action taken by Harris Tuesday contradicts the position of victory the opposition took a few weeks ago over the ruling of the Appeals Court which determined a decision in the Motion Of No Confidence matter should be returned to the high court. Case management in that outstanding matter is set for December 1st 2014. The appeals court also voided the ruling of Mr. Justice Darshan Ramdhani.

Lead counsel for the Speaker of the House, Queen’s Counsel Anthony Astaphan said in an interview following the appeals court decision that he did not know why the opposition were celebrating a victory.

“They have said they won. I say to them ‘Congratulations’ this has been a terrific victory for them…fantastic. All that I would ask them now is ‘where is the Motion of No Confidence?’ and the fact that whether the court can compel him the Speaker, our client to lay it at the next sitting…the answer to that is ‘No’. The answer to all of the celebration is that despite the celebration there is no threat certainly now and none before the trial of the matter by the judge of any Motion of No Confidence being laid before the House and of any debate on a decision on it,” he said.