'D4 saga is not about Willock or Vanterpool' - Skelton-Cline
Mr Skelton-Cline uttered the sentiments on the Tuesday, May 14, 2019, edition of his radio show where he also encouraged his audience to actively talk about the matters, regardless of the characters involved since, according to him, the outcome will have great future implications for the territory.
Keep Talking – Skelton-Cline
“When we’re discussing these matters… this is a matter of constitutional proportion and what would be helpful is if we do not reduce the conversation, the dialogue, even the debate to the current personalities, the current characters that sit in the particular seat,” he said.
The controversy officially began on March 5, 2019, after Mr Vanterpool—who won the Fourth District seat in the February 25, 2019 polls—submitted his resignation to the House of Assembly with a letter addressed to the Clerk of the House as a Speaker had not yet been named.
Following that, Mr Vanterpool recanted his resignation on March 14, 2019, citing incorrect resignation procedure, while noting that the people of his district had encouraged him to continue being their representative.
Speaker Willock, however, had stated the resignation was already accepted and refused to swear Mr Vanterpool into the HoA, leading to the entire D4 saga which is now at the final Appeal's Court, following a High Court ruling in favour of Mr Vanterpool.
According to the man of the cloth, Skelton-Cline, “It has constitutional importance, there are certain powers constitutionally that’s vested to the Executive Branch, that’s vested to the Legislative Branch, that's vested to our Judicial Branch,” Mr Skelton-Cline pointed out, in noting that the matter surrounding the current court case stemmed from a certain amount of silence in the constitution to this regard.
“And these powers, there are certain separations that exist and clearly the Legislative Branch, in this case, the Speaker of the House whomever he or she is, there are certain powers that are vested there in the Office of the Premier, in the office of the Governor, in the judiciary," he told the radio audience in underscoring that the Speaker had the power to take the route that was taken.
Constitutional Silence
Skelton-Cline pointed out that the Judge in the first High Court ruling was correct to not grant a Judicial Review, “the courts were not the proper venue for the matter,” he reiterated in pointing out that it should have been settled in the Parliament.
Other persons have also expressed that the matter should have been resolved via a Parliamentary Procedure, whereby Members cast their votes, usually via secret ballots.
Other talk show commentators have also noted the need to address the constitution to ensure another such issue never recurs.
“In a matter where our constitution is silent, then there's always a need for interpretation. We must see the constitution as a living document. Where in each generation or in each season, or in each occasion, has to be interpreted. And when there’s silence to give voice to the silent place until there are opportunities for constitutional reforms," Mr Skelton-Cline stated.
He further pointed out that in the entire D4 conundrum, “This is not about Honourable Julian Willock, this is not about Honourable Mark Vanterpool. This, in my opinion, is a constitutional matter that needs to be properly distilled, properly ventilated.”
6 Responses to “'D4 saga is not about Willock or Vanterpool' - Skelton-Cline ”
Stop it. You know better. Why do you enjoy throwing oil on Fire.? Encourage VIP Fahie and The speaker to accept their defeat as they agreed to.. All legal litigation has ruled in Mark's favor.. Mark will always win no matter what court they want to go to.