THE Marape Rosso Government, using its numbers on Wednesday, passed an essential
amendment to section 145 of the Constitution that now demands an 18-month grace period after a Vote of No Confidence motion has been moved against the sitting Prime Minister and government, and proven unsuccessful.
Parliament voted 81 to 4, heavily in favour of the bill, which, as a constitutional amendment, requires a two-thirds absolute majority of over 79 members to go through.
Prime Minister Hon. James Marape, after the lengthy session, addressed a press conference in the afternoon after Parliament rose to commend Members of Parliament for agreeing to the change, emphasizing the importance of stability in the work of government and Public Service without the continued interruption of VONC motions against the sitting prime minister.
He said, “Our MPs voted in big numbers today. This shows that a VONC motion can be moved but the grace period applies both ways.
“This is a good law according to the advice given to Government by the State machinery, congruent with our Constitution.
“This amendment provides stability. It is halfway between completely doing away with the VONC provision and allowing it to remain.
“I am a proponent of keeping VONC according to what our constitutional fathers wanted. It is an important instrument in keeping governments in check.
But at the same time, this amendment will stop those without numbers from making disruptive attempts at changing government. In my case, I have stood up to seven VONC attempts in a very short span of time of less than one year.
“The MPs who voted for this law know the importance of it. They know that political instability has disturbed them and the Public Service machinery from working effectively.
“So as the Opposition, if you are successful to take over government, your 18 months grace period starts; but if you are unsuccessful, the 18 months grace period restarts for the sitting government,” said Prime Minister Marape.
PM Marape remarked that his government had the voting ability to completely remove the VONC provision, but has chosen against it and settled for the aforementioned amendment instead.
“We could have chosen to completely remove the VONC provision with the voting ability we have, but as a responsible government, we acknowledge that Section 145 is placed for a purpose – to provide a check and balance,” he said.
He said the Opposition had its right to go to Court to contest the amendment, If they choose to do so.
