MP seeks rule change to tackle ministerial delays in answering questions

TDT | Manama

Email : editor@newsofbahrain.com

For the first time since Bahrain’s Parliament was formed, an MP has turned to a rarely used constitutional tool to propose a change to the council’s internal rulebook.

The request aims to give MPs more control when ministers miss deadlines for answering parliamentary questions.

MP Mohammed Al Ahmed submitted the proposal to the Speaker, seeking to add a new clause to Article 136 of the internal rules.

The change would require the Speaker to act if a minister fails to respond within the set timeframe or within an agreed extension.

In such cases, the MP who posed the question would be offered two options: either proceed with an oral reply at the next session or refer the matter to Parliament for a vote on postponing the question until a written response is received from the minister. No discussion would take place before the vote.

Supplementary provisions
The move draws its basis from Article 94(b) of the Constitution, which allows either chamber to adopt supplementary provisions to regulate matters of internal procedure not covered in existing legislation.

The proposal argues that the current rules lack a clear mechanism for dealing with late responses, leaving questions unresolved and MPs uninformed about how or when the matter will be addressed.

The suggested wording for the new clause reads:

“In all cases, if the legal deadline for the minister’s response to a question expires, or if the additional period requested for deferral also lapses, the Speaker shall immediately offer the MP who submitted the question the choice either to place the question on the agenda of the next session for an oral reply, or to refer the matter to Parliament for a vote on postponing the question until a written response is received from the relevant minister, without discussion.”