If COP wins 4 seats

[reno01tt]

Should the COP win about four seats and the UNC needs these seats to have a majority in the House what type of accommodation do you think will they come up with?????

[peanut]

They should stick to having a bigger opposition .. yuh ever hear 2 man rat cyar live in one hole? This hole definitely cyar take 3.

[deathwinger]

A bigger opposition than the ruling party would actually be nice. It would ensure the PNM would be walking on eggshells and won't want to piss Opposition off to get anything to pass.

[TheLight]

If COP wins 4 seats

Hi Dookeran,

I got your note. Thanks for writing!
I am writing you here. Right on your screen.
I like writing this way. Because you see my note right away!

You are already all grown up! It is hard to believe!

I'm sorry that you don't think you've been very good lately. Maybe you can try harder this week?

I am very busy again this year. So much to do before Christmas! The elves and I are having fun. We are making presents. And we are shopping for presents too. Mrs. Claus is supervising.

You should see us all running around. We look like a merry go-round!

Blitzen is sure he won't catch a cold this year. (He catches a cold every year. Right before Christmas!)

He is wearing a red coat with a big hood to stay warm. Only his nose pokes out. He looks like a red coat running around on four legs.

Well, back to work. I'll try my best to get you the things you want, 4 seats in the election and all. Hmmmm. I had better not promise, though. Because I can't be sure.

This is a great time of year to be very, very good. What with Christmas coming....

Merry Christmas!

Your friend,
Santa Claus


Santa Claus

[cm103]

I think they would make Manning go back to the polls.

[Sirius]

Please stick to the topic people. A hypothetical question has been asked: Try addressing it.

I think that it depends on whether or not Panday will agree to accommodation on the terms of the COP. If not, it is not unheard of for a party to govern while holding a minority in the house. I agree with deathwinger. It would be nice. The opposition will have a lot of bargaining power.

[deathwinger]

Technically with that the PNM won't really be able to do anything without the permission of the opposition. Effectively a puppet government.

[vaio]

Nothing will happen..there will be no kind of governance....it may just frustrate the gov't to call another election.

[peanut]

Technically with that the PNM won't really be able to do anything without the permission of the opposition. Effectively a puppet government.


Yes they will, remember the Opposition is there to serve in the capacity of "checks and balance" to ensure the people's needs are not forsaken and replaced by the needs of friends and family of Gov't. So any Gov't with honorable intentions, especially those with moral and spiritual values can function with an Opposition that has more members than the Gov't.

[kemist]

the government would not be able to function. they would either have to make some alliances and get a few to cross the floor, or call another election.

[cm103]

Nah, if Manning in charge then his maximum leader mind go kick in. He go try and introduce some sweetheart bills he know the opposition not going for and then dissolve parliament once he cyah pass anything. All that go be campaign fodder so he could blame the opposition for not helping out the people.

[Sirius]

the government would not be able to function. they would either have to make some alliances and get a few to cross the floor, or call another election.

But other countries have found themselves in such a position. Look at Canada for example...happened more than a few times with them. A minority government can still be effective once they get the opposition to support their plans. Remember an opposition serves to provide checks and balances, not just to oppose for the sake of opposing. If the government does a good job with the measures it wishes to introduce, then the opposition parties would support them. It is if they want to pass some ridiculous piece of legislation they'll get blocked right off the bat since they won't have any kind of majority to pass it at all.

One has to hope that if we end up with a minority government, the opposition parties can act maturely enough to allow good legislation to pass and not block everything just to bring down the government.


Nah, if Manning in charge then his maximum leader mind go kick in. He go try and introduce some sweetheart bills he know the opposition not going for and then dissolve parliament once he cyah pass anything. All that go be campaign fodder so he could blame the opposition for not helping out the people.

If that happens, the opposition parties can use that right back at him just as easily. I think he'll have to try and make do for a while.

[skl]

alyuh forget what happen the last time Manning couldnt pas legislation. He prorogue Parliament for a year then call elections.

[Maccogirl]

Manning will go back to the polls its obvious he will have no choice

[peanut]

Skl, that was different, the Opposition did not take the Oath of office so Parliament could not have functioned.

[skl]

Skl, that was different, the Opposition did not take the Oath of office so Parliament could not have functioned.

the opposition COULDNT take the oath of office becuase the Manning prorogue Parliament before it even start.

[peanut]

You have it wrong breds, after ANR annointed the PNM, their MPs were sworn in, the UNC MP's refused to do so. Manning then prorogued Parliament and called the elections 9 months later. Subsequent to the refusal to be sworn in, the Opposition MPs demanded salaries and the Gov't refused on that basis.

[skl]

You have it wrong breds, after ANR annointed the PNM, their MPs were sworn in, the UNC MP's refused to do so. Manning then prorogued Parliament and called the elections 9 months later. Subsequent to the refusal to be sworn in, the Opposition MPs demanded salaries and the Gov't refused on that basis.

LOL, you have it wrong girl. Manning appointed all his MP's as Ministers so they were sworn in as Ministers BEFORE Parliament met........Opposition Mp's could only get sworn in at parliament and Manning prorogued it immediately.

after wards the UNC tried to make the point that the PNM MP's hadnt been sworn in as MP's either but apaprantly legal counsel told them that being sworn as a Minister covered being an MP as well.

I wish they had taken that to court. would have been informative.

[peanut]

You have it wrong breds, after ANR annointed the PNM, their MPs were sworn in, the UNC MP's refused to do so. Manning then prorogued Parliament and called the elections 9 months later. Subsequent to the refusal to be sworn in, the Opposition MPs demanded salaries and the Gov't refused on that basis.

LOL, you have it wrong girl. Manning appointed all his MP's as Ministers so they were sworn in as Ministers BEFORE Parliament met........Opposition Mp's could only get sworn in at parliament and Manning prorogued it immediately.

after wards the UNC tried to make the point that the PNM MP's hadnt been sworn in as MP's either but apaprantly legal counsel told them that being sworn as a Minister covered being an MP as well.

I wish they had taken that to court. would have been informative.

I know they took the issue of their salaries to the Privy Council and won after losing their case in the lower and Appeals Court. The issue of Parliament being prorogued before taking the Oath of office, as far as I recall was never an issue, nor was it a ground on which their appeal was based.

[King B]

Should the COP win about four seats and the UNC needs these seats to have a majority in the House what type of accommodation do you think will they come up with?????

With that kind of optimism they should have sent you to counsel hurricane Katrina survivors.

[skl]

this is from the judgment itself a review of the timeline.

The President, acting under section 76(1)(b) of the constitution, appointed Mr Manning, the leader of the PNM, as Prime Minister on 24 December 2001. Mr Manning acted promptly to appoint ministers. On 26 December 2001, with effect from the same date, he appointed the seventeen PNM members of the House, all the members other than himself. On 28 December 2001, with effect from the same date, he appointed ten members of the Senate also to be ministers. Upon appointment all ministers became entitled to ministerial salaries at the prescribed rate. No complaint is made by the appellants about these ministerial appointments or the payments to which those appointed became entitled.

Pursuant to a presidential proclamation made pursuant to section 67(1) of the Constitution, the new Parliament met for the first time after the general election on 5 April 2002. On that day and the following day the House attempted but failed to elect a Speaker. Because of the equality of votes on each side of the House there was no majority in favour of any member put forward by either party, and no majority in favour of any outside candidate. There was thus an impasse. On 6 April 2002 Parliament was prorogued....

......because no Speaker had been elected in the previous Parliament they had been unable to take the oath of allegiance, although it has never been suggested that they were not entirely ready to do so; and because they had not taken the oath of allegiance the House authorities held that they were not entitled to draw salary (although entitled to some minor parliamentary allowances). The appellants were the more aggrieved because their PNM opponents, all in receipt of ministerial salaries, suffered no comparable detrimen

[Maccogirl]

King leave then yes they even saying Rocky beating Rowely and Dyer putting a licking on Brown I don't know what to say with them again :lol:

[Mr Majik]

As Sirius has stated, Canada has had several minority fovernments in my lifetime of political awareness. That would include the present government. They were elected in January this year, and have less than a majority. The Official Opposition would need to align with the other 2 opposition parties to bring down the government, but have chosen not to when presented with several opportunities. Just in the last month, the 2 smaller opposition parties voted against government proposals, yet the Official Opposition chose to allow the legislation to pass.
Some issues, such as budget legislation, are automatically qualified as confidence issues, meaning the gov't will fall if the initiative fails to pass. Other issues are not considered as such so the bill could fail and the gov't will still stand. The gov't also has the choice to make a bill a confidence issue, such as they did recently with their justice bill. Although the Off. Opp. party hated the bill, they allowed it to pass, believing that if they win the next election with a majority they could reverse it.
The reasons an Opp. party would not choose to bring down a gov't are varied. They include considering whether the people would want to return to the polls so soon; whether they would be punished by the electorate for not letting gov't work for awhile; and they feel, as is the case in Canada now, that they don't have enough voter support to win, and don't want to chance the present regime gaining a majority.

A little trivia...The average duration for a minority government in Canada is 1 years, 3 months and 29 days.

Here is a chart that shows the Canadian Parliamentary makeup. The Conservatives are the ruling party. The number of seats are 308. It would take a simple majority of 155 votes to bring down the gov't, or in the case of abstentions and vacancies, a larger Nay vote than Yea vote.
http://www.parl.gc.ca/information/about ... ings-E.htm (http://www.parl.gc.ca/information/about/process/house/partystandings/standings-E.htm)

Conservative 126

Liberal 96

Bloq Quebecois 49

New Democratic Party 30

Independent 3

VACANT 3

VACANCES Total

[kemist]

[

But other countries have found themselves in such a position. Look at Canada for example...happened more than a few times with them. A minority government can still be effective once they get the opposition to support their plans. Remember an opposition serves to provide checks and balances, not just to oppose for the sake of opposing. If the government does a good job with the measures it wishes to introduce, then the opposition parties would support them. It is if they want to pass some ridiculous piece of legislation they'll get blocked right off the bat since they won't have any kind of majority to pass it at all.

One has to hope that if we end up with a minority government, the opposition parties can act maturely enough to allow good legislation to pass and not block everything just to bring down the government.


I understand this, and it may work if cop has the majority in the opposition, but what if panday has the opposition majority? He is just too volatile to predict.

[Mr Majik]

I almost forgot. My whole exercise in explaining the Canadian Gov't makeup was to extrapolate it to T&T's situation.
I'm not so sure Manning would dissolve Parliament; in fact, I'm not sure he could if he wanted to right after an election.
If he sees that together COP and UNC have a majority, I think he would consider the implications of another election. He would note that this might give the opposition parties more incentive to unite to defeat him. It might even make the UNC accede to Dookeran's wishes to retire JackBas, and put either Dooks or Kamla at the top.
It could also lead to many more defections from COP to the UNC if there is no alliance. And I'm sure he would look at the actual vote counts in each constituency to see the percentage of votes PNM got of all votes counted.

In short, a PNM minority Gov't might actually work!

[King B]

King leave then yes they even saying Rocky beating Rowely and Dyer putting a licking on Brown I don't know what to say with them again :lol:

I just watch the NACTA poll on television and they say that it is a stiff contest between the PNM and COP in POS and the marginals... like UNC supporters going to Maracas tomorrow from early or wha? :roll:

[Maccogirl]

Well I wonder if the COP supporters will now come on here and say the NACTA poll now correct :lol: :lol:

[just1fix]

Well I wonder if the COP supporters will now come on here and say the NACTA poll now correct :lol: :lol:

NO they won't Anil Roberts has exposed Vishnu Bisram on air tonight. Bisram did a poll on the Tabaquite constituency on Ramesh and Anand and claimed no fore-knowledge of Ramesh selection of a candidate. The problem is he did it before the Ramesh was announced.

Bisram is trying to sway the election and is not a serious pollster.

[Maccogirl]

Ok then well I guess PNM has it in the bag for POS thanks :D

[Sumana]

Well I wonder if the COP supporters will now come on here and say the NACTA poll now correct :lol: :lol:

NO they won't Anil Roberts has exposed Vishnu Bisram on air tonight. Bisram did a poll on the Tabaquite constituency on Ramesh and Anand and claimed no fore-knowledge of Ramesh selection of a candidate. The problem is he did it before the Ramesh was announced.

Bisram is trying to sway the election and is not a serious pollster.

Again, someone actually taking Anil Roberts seriously?

[Maccogirl]

Anil Roberts was the COP grass root addition, with Anil they thought all the callers on the Power Drive was going to move to the COP, but Gladiator fix them he come with a program called the War Room on his station so all Anil had as a audiance was COP supporters, while all the power drive listeners moved over to 91.9 to cuss Mighty K and Skippy :lol: :lol:

[just1fix]

Well I wonder if the COP supporters will now come on here and say the NACTA poll now correct :lol: :lol:

NO they won't Anil Roberts has exposed Vishnu Bisram on air tonight. Bisram did a poll on the Tabaquite constituency on Ramesh and Anand and claimed no fore-knowledge of Ramesh selection of a candidate. The problem is he did it before the Ramesh was announced.

Bisram is trying to sway the election and is not a serious pollster.

Again, someone actually taking Anil Roberts seriously?

Sumana, I don't take individuals without an accompanying analysis of the facts. The facts of the matter are that Vishnu Bisram conducted that poll in tabaquite before Ramesh was announced as a candidate. If you check your newspaper articles your will unearth the same evidence yourself. He taped Bisram on WINTV and played it back during an IBN program. Bisram was evasive and suffered convenient memory loss when a caller challenged him on that point.
He also has not denied claims he is friends with Ramesh. Instead he chose to say "I am friends with many politicians".