Paulwell urges House Speaker to quit committees amid impartiality concerns

Leader of Opposition Business in the House of Representatives Phillip Paulwell has called for Speaker of the House Juliet Holness to resign from all parliamentary committees for which she is not the chair, arguing that her presence as a regular member could bring the office of the Speaker into disrepute.

He urged the Speaker to “resist her part’s inclination to demean” her office.

In his contribution to the Sectoral Debate in Parliament this afternoon, Paulwell said that the role of the Speaker is by constitutional design and long-standing convention, one of strict impartiality.

He reasoned that the Chair exists above the partisan divide as the guardian of fair process for all members – both government and opposition alike.

“It is therefore a matter of institutional concern, one I raise with respect for the office and not for the individual, that we have recently witnessed the Speaker's presence in contentious committee meetings in a manner that has been perceived as lending support to the Government's position,” Paulwell said.

He said the Speaker’s membership on various committees, outside of her role as chairperson, was without modern precedent in Jamaica’s Parliament.

“If we are serious about Standing Orders reform, and if we are serious about strengthening Jamaican democracy, then we must also be serious about protecting the impartiality of the Chair,” Paulwell insisted, adding that it was a constitutional obligation.

"I therefore ask, respectfully Madam Speaker, that you resist your Party’s inclination to demean your office and resign from all the committees that are likely to bring the office of Speaker into disrepute," he urged.

-Edmond Campbell

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