HGP Nightly News – Opposition Chief Whip and WIN Member of Parliament Tabitha Sarabo-Halley has mounted a vigorous defence of the nomination and challenged critics to point to any rule that was breached.
In a strongly worded statement, Sarabo-Halley argued that the opposition’s decision to nominate Walton-Desir was fully consistent with the Standing Orders of the National Assembly and should never have been rejected.
“Any member of the National Assembly, whether elected or non-elected, is eligible for membership of a committee,” she stated.
She maintained that despite claims to the contrary, no provision of the Standing Orders prevents a parliamentary group from nominating another member to occupy one of its allotted committee seats.
“There is no standing order, there’s no rule, there’s no section of the standing orders that indicates that there are exceptions to that particular rule,” Sarabo-Halley asserted.
At the centre of the dispute is the opposition’s decision to use one of WIN’s allocated committee seats for Walton-Desir after calculations left FGM without direct committee representation.
According to Sarabo-Halley, the arrangement did not alter committee numbers, seat allocations or parliamentary proportionality.
“WIN made the decision that we will put her on some committees giving her our seats,” she explained.
The Opposition Chief Whip further argued that the Committee of Selection exceeded its role by rejecting a nomination that, in her view, complied with all parliamentary requirements.
“There’s no provision of the Standing Orders that authorizes the chair of the Committee of Selection or any other member of that committee to veto a nomination duly submitted by a recognized parliamentary group,” she contended.
Sarabo-Halley also dismissed suggestions that Walton-Desir had been deliberately “set up” through the nomination process, insisting that the controversy stems from political disagreement rather than any procedural violation.
“Political disagreement should not be conflated with procedural misconduct,” she said.
Her comments also placed renewed scrutiny on Speaker of the National Assembly Manzoor Nadir, whose handling of the matter has come under criticism from sections of the opposition.
Sarabo-Halley argued that the issue originated within the Committee of Selection and should not be confused with a formal ruling of the National Assembly itself.
“The matter under discussion is not a ruling of the National Assembly, but a decision taken within a committee setting,” she stated.
“The two are not procedurally synonymous and should not be treated as such.”
The WIN parliamentarian also questioned suggestions that MPs could face consequences for publicly discussing what transpired during committee proceedings.
In one of the sharpest sections of her statement, she asked: “What specific standing order prohibits a member of Parliament from informing the public of what transpired at a meeting of the Committee of Selection or from expressing disagreement with a decision or interpretation advanced by the chair of that committee?”
Sarabo-Halley disclosed that she has formally written to Speaker Nadir seeking clarification on the events of the June 5 Committee of Selection meeting and is awaiting a response.
As the parliamentary standoff deepens, the committee controversy has evolved beyond a single nomination and into a broader debate about parliamentary authority, transparency and the rights of opposition parties within the National Assembly.
For now, opposition figures remain adamant that no rule was broken, while continuing to press for answers over why Walton-Desir’s nomination was blocked in the first place.
