Social Democratic Liberal Party leader Viliame Gavoka says Parliament has passed 274 laws and “the vast majority came by way of ambush” using Standing Order 51.
He made the comment during debate on the Electoral (Registration of Voters) (Amendment) Bill 2021 in the House on Monday.
“In jurisdictions overseas, you have at least two months’ notice that a Bill is coming and then you go into the first reading, the second reading and the third reading,” Mr Gavoka said.
“Over here, we should be ashamed of ourselves that we are making laws in this manner, in this country. “Mr Speaker, we hope that you can change the way you do things.”
Mr Gavoka said the Bill was “very important” because of the implications for married women “so, there could have been some dialogue on this”.
In introducing the motion, Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said the amendment “seeks to ensure that the constitutional provisions ensuring that we have a registered voter actually voting in the elections”.
