MPs to sue Speaker Mutti

By NATION REPORTER

PATRIOTIC Front (PF) Members of Parliament have given Speaker of the National Assembly a 48 hours ultimatum to reverse her decision, threatening to declare Emmanuel Jay Banda’s Seat vacant after seven days, failure to which, the MPs will have no option but to sue the presiding officer.
The PF law makers have threatened to take legal action against Ms Mutti for unconstitutionally and illegally threatening to declare Jay Jay Banda’s Petauke Seat vacant when she has no authority or mandate to make such a decision.
In a petition signed by several PF law makers last evening, the Legislators says they are shocked and appalled that Speaker Mutti could brazenly elect to abrogate Parliamentary Standing Orders governing the process of disciplining an absentee law maker by purporting that should would declare the Petauke Seat vacant after seven days should Mr Banda fail to return to Parliament.
“We hasten to state that if we do not receive your communication informing us of the reversal of the decision within forty eight (48) hours we shall take legal action against the presiding Officers and seek the relief from the Court, which will properly interpret both the Standing Orders 2024 and the provisions of the Constitution that provide for the procedure for declaring a Parliamentary seat vacant,” the MPs said in their petition to Speaker Mutti.
The PF Legislators have told Speaker Mutti that the Standing orders cited in giving Jay Jay Banda seven days ultimatum did not as a matter of fact grant authority to the Speaker to declare a parliamentary seat vacant,.
“Without belabouring the point, we find that the decision by the Speaker is not backed by the Standing Order 223 which was cited as authority for giving the Honourable MP the seven (7) days ultimatum. More importantly the Standing Order cited does not grant the Speaker any authority declare a Member’s seat vacant for failure to attend sittings,” the MPs said.
“The clear reading of the Standing Order shows that the only power the Speaker has in deserving instances is to punish the Member who is found guilty by suspensions of one week for the first offender, two weeks or the second ender and one month for the third and subsequent Offender,” they said in their petition.
The PF law makers stated that the National Assembly, presided over by the Speaker was a creature of the Constitution and that under Constitutional democracy, the mandate to declare the seat of a member of parliament vacant was vested in the Constitutional Court.
“The clear reading of the Standing Order shows that the only power the Speaker has in deserving instances is to punish the Member who is found guilty by suspensions of one week for the first offender, two weeks or the second ender and one month for the third and subsequent Offender,” they said.
They explained that the Speaker was only bound to announce the vacancy upon being notified by the Constitutional Court of such vacancy, often after the Court process.
“On this basis, we find that the part of the Ruling of the Speaker which threatened to declare the Petauke Seat vacant if Jay Jay Banda fails to appear in the House after seven (7) days to be a usurpation of the constitutional mandate of the Constitutional Court. We therefore earnestly urge the Speaker to consider our petition and, upon reflection, revisit the decision made on the floor of the House on Tuesday 19 November 2024,” they said.
The law makers went on to give the background of how Jay Jay Banda was abducted,state agents