KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Opposition People’s National Party (PNP) has expressed grave concern over Tuesday’s sitting of the House of Representatives, describing it as the latest in a troubling pattern of procedural inconsistency, selective enforcement of the Standing Orders, and conduct that undermines Parliament’s constitutional role as Jamaica’s principal forum for accountability, scrutiny and debate.

In a statement on Thursday, the PNP cited three incidents in particular which it said underscore its concerns.

In the first incident, the PNP said the Leader of Opposition Business, Phillip Paulwell had sought recognition to raise a procedural matter regarding the absence of the Integrity Commission’s latest report from the order paper despite being submitted to Parliament.

“Before he was permitted to identify his issue, the speaker ruled him out and directed that the matter be raised privately with the leader of government business. The Opposition maintains that a speaker cannot properly determine a procedural objection without first hearing what the member seeks to raise,” it said.

The PNP noted that Westminster parliamentary practice, which Jamaica adheres to, requires that discretion be exercised fairly, impartially and on an informed basis.

The second issue, the party said, was that during consideration of a motion to approve a report from the Regulations Committee, several Opposition members immediately called for a division after the question was put forward.

It noted that the speaker stated that she had not heard the request and proceeded without conducting the division.

The Opposition has since requested a review of Hansard (a verbatim transcript of proceedings in Parliament) and the official recording, as several members maintain that the request was made clearly and in time.

The party’s third concern is that rather than addressing the procedural concerns, Government members used the subsequent debate to launch sustained personal attacks against the Member of Parliament (MP) for St James South, Nekeisha Burchell, who had been among those challenging the handling of the proceedings.

“Members of Parliament are elected to represent the Jamaican people and are entitled, within the standing orders, to challenge procedural rulings and use every lawful parliamentary mechanism to protect the rights of those they represent. Rather than restraining these personal attacks, the speaker permitted them to dominate the debate despite having little or no relevance to the matter then before the House,” the PNP said.

The Opposition said it is particularly concerned by remarks directed at MP Burchell by Minister of Local Government Desmond McKenzie who, while pointing across the chamber, warned her that she should “not cross his path or else”.

The PNP stressed that such language can reasonably be interpreted as threatening and intimidating and has no place in Jamaica’s Parliament as it risks further lowering the standard of parliamentary discourse.

Paulwell said, “This is not about personalities. It is about protecting Parliament as an institution. Every member, regardless of political affiliation, has the right to be heard, seek procedural clarification and expect the standing orders to be applied fairly and consistently.”

St Thomas Eastern MP Rose Shaw added, “No Member of Parliament should face intimidation or selective enforcement of the rules for carrying out their constitutional duty. Our concern is not simply for one member, but for the integrity of Parliament and the rights of every elected representative.”

St Mary South Eastern MP Christopher Brown added, “This singling out of member Burchell by former speaker Marisa Dalrymple Philbert, to my mind amounts to inciting and represents an unfortunate  direct mobilisation of possible attacks, within a society where violence is often the first choice for conflict resolution.”

READ: Dalrymple rips into ‘unruly’ Burchell

“What Mrs Marisa Dalrymple Philbert did in this personal public denunciation was wrong and in fact goes against the traditions of established proper conduct in the House,” he continued.

The Opposition stressed that it will continue to resist what it described as the oppressive and undemocratic management of the affairs of the House of Representatives, and will resolutely defend MP Burchell from the type of “intimidatory conduct” displayed by Government members during the sitting.