Namah: Parliament adjournment breached constitution

OPPOSITION Leader Belden Namah has claimed that the adjournment of Parliament on Wednesday over Covid-19 concerns was a breach of the constitution.
Parliament which resumed on Tuesday after a five-month break was forced to adjourn to avoid a national security threat raised in a letter to the Speaker Job Pomat by Covid-19 National Pandemic Controller David Manning after 42 staff members tested positive.
Namah told The National yesterday that he would challenge the adjournment in court, on top of a pending case in which he is questioning the passing of the 2021 Budget and Parliament’s failure to deal with a motion of no confidence submitted last Dec 14.
He said Parliament was deliberately adjourned to August, by which time no motion of no confidence could be entertained as it was less than 12 months before the next national election.
He claimed the adjournment was in breach of the 63 days constitutional sitting requirement.
“As I claim in my Supreme Court application, the adjournment last Dec 16 to April 20 this year was unconstitutional,” he said.
“One of the points is the constitutional breach of the number of sitting days.
“Section 124 of the constitution says Parliament must meet nine weeks (63 days) each year and meet four times in a year.
“Late January is the first sitting,” he said.
“April is the second sitting.
“August is the third sitting and November is the final sitting.
“There must be a three-month interval between each of the four sitting times.
“If you adjourned and commenced sitting in August, you will have breached the three-month interval stipulated, because from August to November you can only fit in one meeting.”