The Motion of No Confidence brought against National Security Minister Stuart Young has been defeated in the House of Representatives, with the 20 government members voting against it, surpassing the Opposition’s 18 in its favor. 

The vote was made on Wednesday night at around 8pm, following a nearly 10 hour long debate. 

There were no abstentions.

As she brought the motion before the House on Wednesday morning, Opposition leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar pointed to the handling of exemptions and last year’s controversial meeting with Venzuela’s VP Delcy Rodriguez, as reasons the Minister must be relieved of his role.

Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley described the motion  as misdirected, saying he takes personal responsibility as leader of the government, for how the country has chosen to manage the Covid-19 pandemic.

Joining the debate in the House of Representatives on Monday afternoon, Dr. Rowley said the Opposition’s criticism of government’s handling of the pandemic had the potential to incite citizens to disregard the Public Health Regulations in place to mitigate the virus spread.

“This motion is incompetent, irrelevant and immaterial,” the PM said

The House adjourned to next Friday, February 5, at which time the Evidence (Amendment) Bill, 2020 is expected to be taken through all its stages.