Parliament’s Agenda Revised: Speaker’s Election to Take Place

The parliamentary agenda for this Thursday, July 18, has been revised, with a new twist in the ongoing drama surrounding the Speaker’s position. The MPs are expected to elect a new Speaker, as per the Constitution.

According to l’Express’ sources, Adrien Duval is the top contender for the post, with an alliance between the Parti Mauricien Social-Démocrate (PMSD) and the Mouvement Socialiste Militant (MSM) seemingly solidifying.

However, there has been resistance from Alan Ganoo and members of the Muvman Liberater (ML), believing Zahid Nazurally, the current Deputy Speaker and ML representative, is more deserving of the position.

Sources close to Ivan Collendavelloo suggest that he is confident his party will support Nazurally for the role.

However, Pravind Jugnauth’s indications did not indicate that he has chosen Nazurally to replace Sooroojdev Phokeer.

There has been no communication between the two men. When asked if he would be the next Speaker, Phokeer replied, “I don’t know.”

Despite being unable to preside over Parliament due to Phokeer’s resignation, it is crucial to note that Section 32 of the Constitution states that there can be no “business” at the Assembly when the President of the Chamber is vacant, except for the election of a new Speaker.

The elected Speaker will then preside over the day’s session.

Some government members have expressed concerns that Adrien Duval may be too young for the position.

Additionally, the presence of a PMSD candidate in constituency 14, Savanne-Rivière-Noire, may pose a problem, as well as Tania Diolle’s transfer from constituency 18, Rose-Belle-Quatre-Bornes.

Meanwhile, Xavier-Luc Duval has been elected to represent constituency 20, Beau-Bassin-Petite-Rivière alongside Vincent Seetaram, a close ally of Alan Ganoo.

Party leader Navin Ramgoolam of the Parti Travailliste (PTr) believes Phokeer’s departure was part of a deal with the PMSD.

“It’s clear that this is a deal with PMSD. You don’t need to climb a coconut tree to know what happened.

Pravind Jugnauth is being desperate. He wanted to break off from us from the start. He will take what he can to survive, but he won’t survive,” Ramgoolam said after meeting with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.

According to chronology, it appeared that PMSD was behind Phokeer’s departure. Xavier-Luc Duval requested Phokeer’s resignation on Wednesday evening, July 17, which led to a chain of events culminating in Phokeer’s resignation on Friday evening.

In his last parliamentary session, Phokeer uttered the words “So, we have come to the end” after Fabrice David spoke around 9:15 pm on Friday, July 12.

Although this phrase seemed innocuous at the time, it holds greater significance today.

l’Express’ sources indicated that Phokeer may have been admitted to hospital to avoid presenting his resignation immediately.

Furthermore, a notable development indicating closer ties between PMSD and MSM is that no Blue party members posed questions in Parliament on July 9th, whereas Patrice Armance had filed only one question on July 2nd.

Source: l’Express