Parliament votes in new standing orders

Parliament has voted in new standing orders that will include the formation of new permanent committees and extended debating time.

The standing orders were amended by a temporary committee instituted for the purpose and open to public comments ahead of Monday’s vote. The new rules were voted in unanimously by 77 votes.

The first amendment to the rules increases debating time by one hour and gives each lawmaker two minutes to debate their point. An hour of debating time is equally divided among the six political parties represented in parliament.

Previously, the rules only allowed three hours of time for debate, which was divided among political parties according to the number of seats they had in parliament.