MMM MP Arianne Navarre-Marie was named and suspended for the next two sessions.
Labour Party MP Osman Mahomed escaped expulsion when Speaker Sooroojdev Phokeer reprimanded him for laughing while making his “announcement”. Before complying with the latter’s request, the red MP wanted to know under which section of the Standing Order he should apologise for laughing. No sooner had he resumed his seat, after being called to order, than it was the turn of Mouvement Militant Mauritienne MP Arianne Navarre-Marie to be reprimanded by the Speaker. The latter asked her to apologise. “Why?” was the purple MP’s reply. “For remarks,” replied Sooroojdev Phokeer, adding that he was not here to discuss. “Either you apologise or you leave the House,” he told her as he stood up. Faced with the intransigence of MP Arianne Navarre-Marie, the Speaker suspended the session. When work resumed, the MMM MP was “named” for her derogatory remarks about the Speaker and for arguing with him and thus defying his authority. She was subsequently expelled.
Following the incident, the MP claimed she did not address the Speaker. “I think it is very unfair. It shows once again how far Parliament has fallen,” she said. The MP also made it clear that of the four questions she had to ask, she was only able to address one. She considered her expulsion to be “undemocratic” and a “censorship”.
