𝐒𝐞𝐭𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐆𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐏𝐮𝐬𝐡 𝐚𝐬 𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐅𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭

The Constitution (Amendment) (Constituent Assembly Sitting) Bill 2024 failed to secure the required support in Parliament today after a roll-call vote following the second reading debate led by Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele. The Bill, which aimed to extend the Constituent Assembly’s sitting timeline to December 2026 and expand its membership, did not achieve the three-quarter majority needed for passage.

The Bill received bipartisan support from all eight MPs of Guadalcanal, regardless of their political affiliations. However, one Guadalcanal MP was absent, contributing to the total of 14 MPs missing. This absence led to the Bill falling short of the 38 votes required for approval. Only 31 MPs voted in favor, while 2 abstained and 3 opposed the Bill.

Despite the setback, the government may revisit the Bill in the next parliamentary session, potentially incorporating revisions based on feedback from the Bill and Legislation Committee (BLC) and further consultations.

In early May of this year, Hon. Willie Atu was elected as the Premier of Guadalcanal. In his victory speech, Premier Atu declared that the topic of State Government “is non-negotiable for Guadalcanal.”

Since then, Premier Atu has made it a priority for his Executive to push for state government.

Unfortunately, the defeat of the Bill will likely prolong the process of constitutional amendment. If passed, this Bill would have represented the first step in the long journey toward achieving state government.

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GP Media.