Opposition calls for quorum, parliamentary sitting suspended

Opposition MP Jason Azzopardi this afternoon called for a quorum during the question time in Parliament, forcing deputy Speaker Censu Galea to suspend the sitting.

Azzopardi called for a quorum after parliamentary secretary Michael Falzon replied a question posed to the Prime Minister Joseph Muscat over the investigations carried out by the Internal Audit and Investigations Department (IAID) since March 2013.

Falzon replied that according to Article 22 of Chapter 461 of the Maltese law the information cannot be divulged. On hearing this, Azzopardi insisted that government was being “secretive” and called for a quorum.

At the time of Azzopardi’s request only around seven government MPs and three opposition MPs were present. A call for a quorum requires at least 15 MPs from both sides of the House to be present before the sitting can resume.

The sitting resumed five minutes later.