Moves to formulate amendments to the T&T Constitution-minus any executive presidency-and to change the PNM's constitution will be made at PNM's March convention, the party's political leader Dr Keith Rowley has confirmed. Rowley indicated this at yesterday's constituency conference of his Diego Martin West unit. He said he did not endorse an executive presidency as the previous PNM administration had. Rowley noted that the PNM celebrates its 55th anniversary today and that PNM founder Dr Eric Williams would have been 100 years old in September.
During yesterday's conference, Rowley's constituency passed a resolution seeking to do a "comprehensive reform" of PNM's constitution because of the need to rebuild the party. It is projected that a committee be established by the party leadership to undertake the task and report back within three months with recommendations. Another resolution passed mandates the party to set up a qualified team to review the party's input for any debate on changes to the T&T Constitution. Rowley said the last PNM administration had compiled an entirely new T&T Constitution which included a proposed executive presidency. He said that was not what he was endorsing. He said he endorsed an exercise to see what amendments were necessary for the current constitution.
Rowley's Diego Martin West unit will take both resolutions to the convention floor on March 20. Rowley said if the PNM was rebuilt in the same way it was before, it would get the same result it got last year-when it lost the general election. If the changes necessary for the 21st century had to be made to the party constitution, he said, the PNM must be prepared to make the changes. He said he intended to make changes to improve democracy in PNM. "In 2010, lack of democracy cost us very very dearly...I daresay it cost us the Government," Rowley said.