According to section 78(1) of the Constitution: “78. (1) Where the Prime Minister is absent from Trinidad and Tobago or is unable by reason of illness or of the provisions of section 77(4) to perform the functions conferred on him by this Constitution, the President may authorise some other member of the Cabinet to perform those functions [other than the functions conferred by subsection (2)] and that member may perform those functions until his authority is revoked by the President.”
This subsection has been utilised by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley several times since he became Prime Minister in September 2015. His advice to successive presidents (Carmona, Weekes and Kangaloo) has always been to have Colm Imbert, Minister of Finance and an elected MP, perform the functions of the office of Prime Minister.
The basis of the authority for the Prime Minister to advise the President is found in section 78(2) as follows: “(2) The powers of the President under this section shall be exercised by him in accordance with the advice of the Prime Minister, save that where the President considers that it is impracticable to obtain the advice of the Prime Minister owing to his absence or illness, or where the Prime Minister is unable to tender advice by reason of the provisions of Section 77(4), the President may exercise those powers without the advice of the Prime Minister.”
The decision of Dr Rowley to advise the President to authorise Minister Stuart Young to perform the duties of Prime Minister, for some reason, has caused a fair amount of media speculation and discussion. As this is the second time, in short order, that such authorisation has been assigned on the advice of Rowley, there is speculation about whether there is something else behind this sudden change.
Unlike Patrick Manning who used Lenny Saith and Joan Yuille-Williams (both senators) to perform the duties of Prime Minister and Eric Williams, who used Francis Prevatt (a senator) after the resignation of ANR Robinson from the Cabinet in 1970 and the retirement of Dr Patrick Solomon from representational politics in 1966, the only other PNM Prime Minister to use an elected MP to perform the duties of Prime Minister was George Chambers who used Kamaluddin Mohammed to perform those duties between 1981 and 1986.
After Imbert did not seek re-election as chairman of the PNM in November/December 2022, and he was replaced by Young following a contested election for chairman, Imbert was selected by Rowley as a deputy political leader in January 2023.
Perhaps the reason for all of this speculation has to do with the fact that shortly after Rowley was re-appointed Prime Minister in August 2020, he told the Morning Brew programme on CNC3 that he might consider retiring. He revived that discussion in January this year at the re-opening of Balisier House.
Is Rowley sending signals within the party about his preference for Young as a likely successor or is there an issue that has emerged with Imbert that he is no longer asking him to continue to do what he has asked him to do for the last nine years?
There is no doubt that the PNM is preparing for the next general election as they are screening candidates for the seats currently held by the UNC. In some cases, candidates have been named.
Parliament is in its final year which will end on August 27, 2025, if it is not dissolved sooner. An election must be held no more than 90 days after a dissolution and no less than 35 days after a dissolution. The next budget will be the last budget for this Government and so the odds of an earlier election are greater because of that.
Further speculation about whether Young is just acting or is being targeted as a successor also came from Young himself when he praised Minister Camille Robinson-Regis, the chairperson of the PNM Women’s League, last Sunday at the League’s annual conference.
He revealed how much he owes her for helping him settle in as an opposition senator back in 2014 when he had just joined the party. Using a senator to perform prime ministerial duties would remove any speculation about succession. The same could be said about frequent rotation (as happened during the PP government which was a coalition).
However, in this situation, there is speculation about succession planning as both Imbert and Young hold leadership positions in the party and Rowley has not made any definitive statement about his plans going into the next general election. His comments upon his return from his medical check-up overseas will be closely monitored for any retirement clues.
Dr Hamid Ghany is Professor of Constitutional Affairs and Parliamentary Studies at the University of the West Indies (UWI). He was also appointed an honorary professor of the UWI upon his retirement in October 2021. He continues his research and publications and also does some teaching at the UWI.