PM on Notice from Opposition to Recall Parliament

14/08/2003 15:50:38 | Pacific Beat Stories Radio Australia

Tuvalu's Opposition has given Prime Minister Saufatu Sopoanga until the end of this week to announce a date for the resumption of Parliament, before it calls on the Governor-General to force the governnent's hand.

Last week's High Court ruling by Chief Justice Gordon Ward stipulated that the Governor-General does have the discretionary power to force the government to recall parliament. In May this year, Mr Sopoanga's government was thrown into turmoil after it lost its one-seat majority following by-elections in Nanumea and Niutao. The opposition has since argued that the Government is no longer in a position to govern and want Parliament recalled to hear a vote of no confidence.