The Speaker of Parliament the Hon. Godfrey Thoma
announced on Nauru Bulletin and NTV News that after the last parliamentary
sitting, there were not enough members attending the sitting to convene a
quorum so the house has been adjourned till 3:00pm in the afternoon, which
unfortunately, still no members turned up.
Thus the Speaker said that he has taken note that some
members had informed him of their intended absence due to illness, while many
others have not. Therefore, the Speaker said that the Constitution of Nauru is
very clear under Article 32(1), (d) that:
“A member of parliament
vacates his seat if he is absent without leave of parliament on every day on
which a meeting of parliament is held during a period of two months.”
Therefore, the Speaker said, since his appointment as the
Speaker of Parliament on Thursday 25, April 2013, following the resignation of
former Speaker the Hon. Ludwig Scotty on 18 April. Article 32 of the Constitution
deals with the various ways a Member of Parliament vacates their seat.
According to the Speaker he said that, all the members
were present on the 25, April 2013 and hence the continuing absence of some
still falls within this two month period. However, the two-month deadline will
not be reached because the parliament will automatically dissolve on the 21, June
2013 the date which marks the end of its three-year term.
In conclusion the Speaker inform the public that he will continue
to call parliament and hope that members end the current impasse by attending
and ensuring a quorum to enable debate on the President’s advice to dissolve
parliament to proceed as required by Article 41 of the Constitution.
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