Supremacy of Parliament

During the past weeks we have seen two honourable gentlemen lose their office by a parliamentary majority. I am referring to the resignation of former Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici and Malta’s EU envoy Richard Cachia Caruana.

... once the vote is taken the decision is final...- Ray Azzopardi, Xemxija

Though both motions presented in Parliament by the opposition were scrutinised and discussed, the reason behind the outcome of the voting is still questionable. Certain members of Parliament have publicly declared they voted for the motion due to personal and partisan reasons.

At this juncture one starts questioning whether it is correct for any motion to be passed in Parliament simply because it attains the majority of the members present. Irrespective of whether what is being discussed is relevant or not to the motion and irrespective of whether what is being said is considered to be factual or not, what counts is whether one votes for or against the motion. In other words, once the vote is taken the decision is final – hence, the supremacy of Parliament.

In Malta, we do not have another Chamber that could approve or bar what has passed in Parliament as, for example, the Upper House or the House of Lords in England.

Once we all agree that Parliament is supreme and whatever is passed in Parliament should stand and be abibed by, then the more we need to scrutinise every person who presents herself/himself for election.

We are all human and bound to make mistakes but realising today how during this legislature disputable and controversial laws have been passed, one has to be more meticulous and cautious before voting for particular individuals. They are the ones who ultimately decide our future as their decision is final.