by Ednal Palmer
Gordon Darcy Lilo’s second attempt to remove Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele and his regime just six months apart suffers the same fate – No numbers.
The Member of Parliament for Central Honiara withdrew this second Motion of No Confidence from the standing paper, the sole business expected in today’s parliament paper.
When parliament reconvened this afternoon after being suspended in the morning, Speaker of Parliament Patteson Oti told Parliament that the notice of the motion of No Confidence in the Prime Minister was withdrawn – as a result of the withdrawal from the standing paper and in accordance with standing order 31(2).
“The motion is hereby withdrawn totally from the business paper and is no longer an item of business for consideration by parliament unless reintroduced accordingly.”
This motion comes just six months after the Central Honiara MP withdrew the first one on the floor of Parliament in mid-December 2024 after numbers were not in his favour.
Lilo, during the December attempt, also sought to defer the motion, but the request was overruled by the Speaker of Parliament, Patterson Oti.
Oti said he would not defer the motion of no confidence, as it was not supported by the Standing Orders.
It was not clear whether Lilo also sought to defer today’s Motion to a later date, which resulted in the delay in proceedings this morning, but the speaker confirmed that the mover officially informed the clerk to withdraw the motion in accordance with standing order 31(2).
Meanwhile, leader of the defected pack that caused the political upheaval, Manasseh Sogavare, uttered nothing as GNUT regained control.
With Lilo’s decision, the nerve-racking wait that began last week was finally over this afternoon.
