Grenada: Prime Minister Tillman Thomas facing no-confidence motion

Grenada Prime Minister Tillman Thomas. PHOTO/File

The main opposition New National Party (NNP) today said it had filed a vote of no confidence in Prime Minister Tillman Thomas after one of his senior ministers resigned amid continued turbulence within the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC).

Opposition Leader and former prime minister Dr. Keith Mitchell told a news conference that the motion would be debated at the next sitting of the Parliament due next month and that it had been filed last Friday ahead of the resignation of Tourism, Civil Aviation and Culture Minister Peter David on Monday.

The NNP, which controls four of the 15 seats in the House of Representatives, is seeking a special sitting of the house for the motion to be heard.

“We as a responsible opposition took the decision to file a vote of no confidence in the leadership of the country. The Speaker, George James McGuire, in his own right decided that in the context of the Standing Orders that we must have at least six MPs to request a special sitting” .Mitchell told reporters.

“The motion will go as is but will not be a special sitting. If we are able to get support from two more members then we can ask for a special sitting of the House,” he added.

The motion is accusing Prime Minister Thomas of encouraging internal division and strife within his Government since 2008 when the NDC won the general elections.

The motion also comes a few days after NDC chairman Stanford Simon and a group of NDC elders accused the 66-year-old Thomas of dividing his own party. (CMC)