Despite knowing they have very little chance of succeeding, the opposition members announced on Monday (23) they will file another ‘no confidence’ motion. I expect the Premier, Hon. McKeeva Bush is now “quaking in his boots.”

People’s Progressive Movement leader, Alden McLaughlin, and Independent MLA Ezzard Miller said the premier had to resign by Thursday (26) otherwise they will file a ‘no confidence’ motion in the Legislative Assembly (LA) on Friday (27), where they will demand to be able to debate the situation. They urged UDP members to put the country first and tell the premier to step down until the police probes are concluded, as the current situation was “untenable.”

A very defiant Mr. Bush announced on Sunday (22) that he had no intention of resigning despite the announcement Saturday (21) by Commissioner of the RCIPS, David Baines, that the premier was the subject of three investigations. One was a “peripheral” investigation into the unlicensed dynamite seizure by customs and the other two much more serious – financial irregularities.

 

Mr. McLaughlin said, “We call on all of the right thinking members of his administration and his party to exert whatever pressure is necessary on Mr Bush to have him do the right thing by the country. His continuing in office under the weight of these criminal investigations is not only a disservice to the country but it is doing actual harm to the reputation of this jurisdiction.

“I invite cabinet members and backbenchers to insist that he [the premier] steps down and allows the deputy premier or whoever else to take the reins of office until the matters are concluded, and it need not be a constitutional crisis.

“The PPM and Mr. Miller have drafted a lack of confidence motion ready to file on Friday if he does not step down.  Just because government have the numbers does not mean the lack of confidence motion is futile as it is a free vote and the UDP members will need to search their conscience and ask themselves if they can continue to support him staying in office.

“We are going to prevail upon their right mindedness, their professed love of this country and their wish that the country is held by someone with integrity as a basis for breaking party line and voting with conscience.

“We will be prevailing on the speaker of the Legislative Assembly to ensure that the motion will be the first piece of business when the House returns on 9 May. If it is not, the opposition will not participate in any of the proceedings until the motion is on the floor of the chamber.”

After saying this, the PPM leader did concede the opposition options were limited. “The ‘no confidence’ motion is one of the few we have, he said. “I feel the opposition have a duty to the country to use whatever mechanisms are open to us to try and address the issue.

“We can’t just sit on our hands and despite the challenges the opposition will face getting the motion to the Legislative Assembly. We have got to do whatever it is that we believe is right to bring attention to this issue and to get the attention of all those who matter, including the FCO.”

Mr. Miller announced that he will boycott the opening session of the LA on the day to show his disgust.

“I invite the public to join me in my protest on the 9^th May,” he said. “I don’t share the confidence that his supporters have that he [the premier] will not attempt to interfere with the process [of the police investigation]. I believe the very nature of the premier, his modus operandi and the way he promotes fear and intimidation will in itself, for as long as he remains in office, be detrimental to the investigation.

“It is an international embarrassment for this country to have a premier under investigation on three separate matters and the best and least risk to our constitution will be for the UDP to follow their own party constitution and elect a replacement for him among its party membership.”