This letter is in relation to an article, written by Satnarayan Maharaj, which appeared on page A33 of the July 19 T&T Guardian, titled "Politics and Presidents." In the third paragraph of the article it is stated: "The President also has the power to appoint the Prime Minister, the Attorney General and other ministers and a number of senators on the advice of the Prime Minister or the Leader of the Opposition. There are, however, instances in the past where some appointments were made directly by the President without reference to either the Prime Minister or the Leader of the Opposition (emphasis added)."
The article goes to state, inter alia, other powers of the President and to list some appointments that are made by the President after consultations with the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition. The Office of the President wishes to point out that the above-quoted text, highlighted in bold type, suggests that the President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago has acted outside of his remit as provided in the Constitution, without reference to the Prime Minister or to the Leader of the Opposition, when he ought to have done so. This is not the case. The Office of the President wishes to clarify, for the benefit of the reading public, the provisions, as laid out in the Constitution, concerning appointments made by the President, which are made in three ways:
Firstly, the President makes appointments in accordance with advice; for example, the appointment of ministers of government, on the advice of the Prime Minister. (See Section 76,?subsection 3 of the Constitution.)
Secondly, the President makes appointments after consultation; for example, with the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition, in the appointment of the members of the Elections and Boundaries Commission. (See Section 71, subsection 3 of the Constitution.) Where the President makes appointments after consultation, once the relevant parties have been consulted, the decision still rests with the President. Finally, the President makes appointments in his own discretion; for example, the nine senators, often referred to as "Inde- pendent senators." (See Section 40, subsection 2c of the Constitution.)
The Office of the President