Today, the learned minds of the Upper House will consider and debate on the Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2014, now on its last phase of Parliamentary discussion before being passed into law.It's a delicate time for the bill, which needs only one Independent Senator's vote or abstention to move it forward.
Despite the Government's argument that the issues in the bill have been considered by the public, it remains a fact that the most controversial element of the bill, the provision for a runoff vote for candidates who do not capture 50 per cent of the vote in their constituencies, was not addressed during the public forums on constitutional reform and is clearly not receiving public support because of a lack of knowledge on what it entails.
Nor has there been an opportunity for adequate public deliberation on the provision to recall a Parliamentary representative for non-performance.The Government has further chosen to turn a deaf ear to the public response to the ramrodding of a contentious bill through the House of Representatives during a month in which Parliament is normally prorogued and with minority voting.
That response has been substantial, with serious and sustained concerns being raised by business chambers, pastors, the Law Association, trade unions, a UWI student body, a member of the Constitution Reform Committee in the person of Dr Merle Hodge and even People's Partnership coalition colleagues and Congress of the People (COP) founder Winston Dookeran and Carolyn Seepersad-Bachan, who both voted against the bill in the Lower House.
Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has further chosen to ignore the findings of a poll commissioned by her Government, which found that 47 per cent of respondents saw the bill as "designed to help the PP win the next election," a perception of political tainting, with only 35 per cent holding an opposing view.
There are other statistics in that poll that seem to support the Government's move, but such variations and inconsistencies alone should signal to the Government that there remains more to be done in educating the public about the procedures, consequences and likely results of the far-reaching changes that are proposed by the bill.The most inflammatory of those changes cut to the very heart of the way voting is done in T&T and the consequences of those alterations will not become apparent until the next general election.
With continuing vocal and very public protests against the bill by NGOs, trade unions and the public, it seems odd that a political party that came to power with the mantra "serve the people," now finds itself unable or unwilling to listen to the people.While there are many aspects of the bill that are sensible and appropriately considered, the Government's insistence on pushing for changes that have not been appropriately discussed or explained is regrettable.
In the face of such widespread concern, the Prime Minister should withdraw the bill and seek nationwide public consultation and consensus on the elements of it that have raised public doubt.At the very least, the Prime Minister should consider removing those parts of the bill and allowing the uncontested amendments to move forward.
As it stands, Persad-Bissessar is positioning herself to lead a government that embodies the very thing that she railed against on the campaign trail, a wilful dismissal of the anxieties of the public.