Sweeping changes for top officeholders from the prime minister down and various authorities are among recommendations in the report of the National Advisory Committee on Constitutional Reform. The report proposes that a prime minister be limited to two terms.
The seven-member committee, headed by Barendra Sinanan, SC, presented its report, titled We The People, to Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley on August 2. The report was released on the Office of the Prime Minister’s website on Wednesday.
In January, the team was mandated to initiate and guide a national debate generating proposals for legislative and constitutional reform of T&T’s 48-year-old Constitution.
Key recommendations include changing the way elections are conducted, proportional representation and an independent process for the appointment of a president.
The report proposes new sections to the Constitution on rights, freedoms and conditions benefiting the public, from children to seniors and the disabled, protecting against discrimination on the grounds of race, gender, sex, pregnancy, marital status, ethnic or social origin, colour, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, conscience, belief, culture, social or economic status, region or locality.
Comments came from members of the public via forums and correspondence, including on non-constitutional issues.
The committee stated, “Notwithstanding their scepticism and cynicism about yet another attempt at constitutional reform, the sheer scale of the submissions received indicates a deep frustration with both the status quo and the outlook, as well as a deep desire for change. This frustration will likely morph into anger as economic circumstances no longer allow the welfare-oriented, redistributive State to be maintained.”
It added, “Following the collapse of the sugar industry marked by the closure of Caroni (1975) Limited, the collapse of the refining sub-sector marked by the closure of Petrotrin’s refining operations, declining oil and gas production, the population is apprehensive about the future and the impact that higher water, electricity, and fuel prices will have on the cost of living, and the negative impact that increasing foreign exchange scarcity will have on economic activity.
“The nation is at a juncture which demands uncommon courage and uncommon sensitivity to the felt needs of the public. It requires those who hold office to set aside personal, parochial, ethnic, and party ambitions and to reflect on and promote the national interest.”
The committee said the reforms outlined, if implemented, will help promote greater citizen participation in the democratic process, induce a more inclusive political culture and hold officeholders accountable for integrity and performance.
Proposed reforms make a significant shift away from the Westminster-Whitehall model but avoid the American executive presidency model, which paradoxically, reposes even more power in the head of government “which people are clear that they do not want,” the report stated.
The committee said it is well aware that meaningful recommendations for constitutional reform inevitably involve the redistribution of political power in society, and that political parties, political individuals and officeholders would not regard favourably the dilution of their power, although objective and relevant change may be in the best interests of the society.
“This is why the literature on attempts at constitutional reform worldwide is replete with failures, including in the Caribbean and T&T.”
The committee recommended that its working document, which is not a draft Constitution, but statements of the reforms proposed in each area, be discussed at a week-long conference led by an impartial chairperson, to be held in Port-of-Spain with satellite centres around T&T.
One of the recommendations was for fixed election dates.
Noting that the Constitution gives the prime minister the power to dissolve Parliament at any time but it is an arbitrary power which can be abused, the committee proposed: “A fixed date for general elections would be consistent with fairness, allowing all political parties, as well as the private sector, to plan their affairs knowing precisely when an election is due.
“The fixed date should also take into account the most favourable time of year in respect of weather conditions, school and university examinations, and proximity to the end of the fiscal year. “
The team recommended a general election be held every five years on the date fixed by the Constitution.
Fixed dates for Local Government and Tobago House of Assembly elections were also recommended.
The report’s working document proposed that a prime minister be limited to a maximum of two consecutive terms, with a cooling-off period of five years before a former prime minister could be considered for reappointment to office.
It is also proposed that upon the passage of a motion of no confidence in the prime minister, the president should, within seven days, revoke the prime minister’s appointment and appoint a new prime minister or dissolve the Parliament.
The committee recommended an 18-member cabinet and that members should not hold any office for profit or actively engage in any commercial enterprise.
Also recommended was a code of conduct and ethics for MPs, including ministers.
The report stated that the current First Past the Post (FPTP) system does not pass the test of effective representation of constituents and may produce minority governments, and wasted votes, hence the perception and reality of disenfranchisement and inequity
It proposed that the FPTP system be retained for election to the House of Representatives and that Senate seats be increased to 55, where the president appoints ten independent and five Tobago senators and the remaining 40 seats be allocated to political parties based on results of votes in the general election and the proportional representation formula.
“This would provide an effective mechanism for smaller and/or special interest parties to obtain seats in Parliament and have their voices heard,” the report stated.
There was no proposal to change the general composition of Parliament, which would still consist of the president, the Senate and the House of Representatives.