A day after he was chastised by Independent Senator Helen Drayton for his "flip-flop" stance on the Constitutional (Amendment) Bill 2014, Congress of the People (COP) leader Prakash Ramadhar has lashed back, saying he was misunderstood.
He has faced public ridicule over the past two weeks after he voted for the controversial bill when it was brought to Parliament on August 12, although the party executive had announced that the voting on the bill should have been deferred due to public outcry over the contentious runoff proposal.During the debate in the Senate on Tuesday, Drayton criticised Ramadhar for voting with the Government on the bill, saying he previously had said the runoff was a poor substitute for constitutional reform but still voted for it.
But in response yesterday, Ramadhar said Drayton had missed the point.He said: "It is unfortunate that a relatively simple measure such as 'runoff' elections, which is designed solely to ensure that MPs are elected by a majority of electors rather than by a minority, has attracted so much misunderstanding, mischief and misrepresentation, not necessarily in that order.
"What is more unfortunate is that some persons who ought to know better have opted to address the matter on the basis of personalities rather than on the basis of relevant issues. "As someone who continues to respect the usually well thought-out and well-articulated views of Drayton, I was disappointed firstly that she missed the point when it comes to the runoff proposal and, secondly, having missed the point she elected to attack me personally as Minister of Legal Affairs and as chairman of the Constitution Reform Commission."
Noting that Drayton totally misrepresented his statement that runoff elections are poor substitutes for proportional representation, Ramadhar sought to clarify his position.He said: "My statement was made in the context of government not having the requisite parliamentary majority to introduce proportional representation, which is its preferred option and which is the preferred option advanced by the Constitution Reform Commission.
"In the absence of such a majority and having regard to the parliamentary opposition already having announced its intention not to support proportional representation, the system of runoff elections was viewed by the commission (and accepted by the Government as part of its Constitution Amendment Bill) as the next available alternative.