Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar is moving in that direction and is likely to make the formal request on Friday. She has already written to the Speaker on the matter.
Volney won the seat in the 2010 general election but resigned from the United National Congress (UNC) and is now a member of Jack Warner’s Independent Liberal Party (ILP).
Attorney General Anand Ramlogan has made it clear that under the constitution Volney's seat can be made vacant because a member who resigns or is expelled from the party on whose ticket he or she was elected forfeits the seat.
Volney would have 14 days to launch a legal challenge against any attempt to have his seat declared vacant. In such a case he would remain MP until the matter is determined.
While legal action would prevent the declaration of the seat vacant it would also mean that Volney won't be able perform his duties as a member of the House; if he wins he can resume his full duties.
Volney told the Express newspaper there is no need for him to resign his seat like Warner to seek re-validation because nobody has accused him of anything.
The UNC view is different. Some party insiders say Volney doesn't want to go that route because he knows that he cannot win the seat in a byelection. However the MP told the Express the people of St Joseph want him to stay and fight any attempt to remove him as MP.
Like Warner, he keeps insisting that he has no issue with the Prime Minister. And while he is insisting on fighting this issue he is also saying he is done with politics. "I do not propose to have any leading role in the ILP. I do not propose to seek any re-election at the polls. I want to retire from this ugly game of politics," Volney told the Express.
"I will continue to serve my constituents even if they try to silence me in the Parliament, I will continue to be their MP until there is a general election,” he added.
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