Local Government Minister Hazel Manning on Monday night apologised for taking away the public's voting rights with the postponement of local government polls. She also admitted Government "may have bitten off more than it can chew" (sic) in trying to complete the Local Government reform system.
Manning delivered the apology in the Lower House around 10.15 pm while concluding debate on bills pertaining to local government including to reform the system and to extend the term of corporations. The term ends next week.. The extension bill which effectively postpones local government polls for another year–until July 2010–was passed by simple majority. The reform package was sent to a Joint Select Committee of House and Senate members who report by October.
On the Opposition's complaints that postponement of the polls meant denying the public's democratic rights, Manning admitted people had the right to vote. Manning said, "I really want to apologise for the fact that we are taking away the voting rights and this is just for a short time. It has taken us a long time to get to this. It would appear it was a long and difficult task for us to pull together and move forward and we're doing it the right way and this is what has made it slow."
Admitting the Government might have bitten off more than it could chew, Manning added on the reform plan, "In 2004 we thought we had it right and we thought we would have been able to finish it as quickly as we could and we began there but we have been unable to do it." Manning said it took the NAR three years to get its reform right and that collapsed. The PNM took five years, she noted, and had gone a step beyond the NAR's plan.
Manning also argued that only about 30 per cent–a third of the population voted in local government polls. She added, "That could not be right. There must be a reason why this is so, something is wrong and there must be something to do to encourage more people to go out and vote and understand that voting is their right We have to make this more attractive."
She said it was not wise to hold elections based, on for instance, an old system and one in which many had complained about under-performance by some councillors. Manning responded to Opposition concerns, including assuring that the new system can reference Integrity and anti-corruption legislation if necessary. The session ended at 10.40 pm.