BY NED GAGAHE
Outgoing Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele defended his leadership and reflected on political loyalty moments before he was voted out through a Motion of No Confidence in Parliament yesterday.
Speaking before the vote, Mr Manele thanked MPs who stood by him during the seven weeks of political uncertainty, saying their loyalty and trust meant a great deal to him.
“I am grateful and will always treasure the loyalty that you have demonstrated,” Mr Manele said.
“As you know in politics, loyalty is an invaluable currency. Without loyalty, there can be no trust.”
He said loyalty and trust are among the most important ingredients in any political union and acknowledged members of his party and coalition partners who remained with him throughout the political turmoil.
Mr Manele also thanked his former Deputy Prime Minister for his support during his tenure, revealing that he had been repeatedly assured of continued loyalty even shortly before his resignation.
“Sir, he assured me several times when he was DPM and just a couple of days before he resigned that he would be with me until the end,” Mr Manele said.
However, the Prime Minister said that his former deputy later joined the rest of his party colleagues on the opposition side.
Mr Manele said political negotiations had continued behind closed doors during the crisis, with ongoing efforts to keep coalition partners together.
Addressing Parliament, Mr Manele acknowledged the constitutional right of the opposition to move a Motion of No Confidence against him.
“This is your right and you are chosen to exercise it,” he said.
He said Members of Parliament also have the responsibility to debate and vote on the motion not only for themselves, but on behalf of the people they represent and for the future of democracy in Solomon Islands.
“That is why when the mover of the motion asked whether I should resign now, I said no, let’s debate this so that our people can hear what really is at stake,” he said.
The Prime Minister also responded to remarks made by former MPs, saying he had previously been assured of support before the MPs eventually left the government camp.
The outgoing Prime Minister further expressed disappointment that the reasons for the motion were only fully presented during the debate, saying he had little time to prepare a detailed response to the allegations raised against him.
“I must say that I am greatly disappointed that I am put at a great disadvantage of literally not having time to prepare a response to these reasons and allegations,” he said.
Despite this, Mr Manele said he respects the ruling of Speaker Patteson Oti and proceeded to address the House.
He argued that recent court decisions requiring the Prime Minister to convene Parliament to debate a motion of no confidence should also place a responsibility on the mover of the motion to clearly state the grounds and reasons in advance.
Mr Manele said this would allow the Prime Minister sufficient time to properly respond to allegations raised on the floor of Parliament.
Photo credit: John Houanihau
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