Mark declares Volney's seat vacant; St Joseph MP has 14 days to take legal action

The Speaker of the House of Representatives on Monday declared vacant the St Joseph seat in Parliament, currently held by former cabinet minister Herbert Volney.

Volney has 14 days to mount a legal challenge against the ruling by Wade Mark, which was announced at the end of the reading of the budget speech.

Mark's ruling means Volney must cease performing his functions as a Member of the House of Representatives with immediate effect.

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar wrote to Mark on August 26 asking him to delcare the seat vacant because Volney was no longer a member of her party, the United National Congress (UNC). The former judge won the seat in the 2010 general election as a candidate for the UNC.

Volney resigned from the UNC on July 30 and has now joined the new Independent Liberal Party (ILP) led by former UNC chairman and senior cabinet minister Jack Warner.