Fixin TnT and other interest groups against the Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2014 intend to call on President Anthony Carmona and the Government to revoke the appointment of Independent Senator Dr Dhanayshar Mahabir.This was the word from Fixin TnT head Kirk Waithe yesterday as he outlined the next step in the plan of action for the protesters who are saying even though the bill was passed their fight is far from over.
"In fact, it (the fight against it) has only just begun," said Waithe.Apart from Fixin TnT, the People's National Movement (PNM), Movement for Social Justice (MSJ), Independent Liberal Party (ILP) and a number of individuals, including former member of the Constitution Reform Commission Dr Merle Hodge and Attilah Springer, have been staging protest demonstrations outside Parliament since the bill went to the Lower House last month.
The bill was passed in the Upper House last week with the support of three Independent Senators–Mahabir, Dr Rolph Balgobin and David Small. There were 18 votes for the bill and 12 against it.But Mahabir, whose amendment to the controversial runoff clause was accepted by the Government, has been singled out for special attack by the protesters."He has a lot of explaining to do," Waithe said yesterday.
Mahabir has been targeted because of comments he made in a 2007 interview with the T&T Guardian after the results of the general election that year.The PNM won 26 seats and the UNC Alliance, a combination of the UNC and smaller parties, 15 seats.
Mahabir is reported to have said: "We know now beyond any doubt that the country has no room for a third force."The third party will always be the spoiler. What we have seen is such elections favour the ruling party."
Waithe, Springer and others have interpreted that to mean that Mahabir is against third parties. They say this starkly contradicts Mahabir's position on the current bill, in which he proposed an amendment to give third place candidates in an election a chance to contest the runoff if no one initially gains at least 50 per cent of the votes.
Waithe said no small group of people (the Government) and one Independent Senator must be allowed to change the Constitution without the people's input.He had a solution. "Withdraw the bill and call a referendum. If 50 per cent of the people are in favour of the bill we will accept that," he said.Waithe said even though there was no legislation to call a referendum, Parliament could quickly pass the law.
In the meantime, they are going to call for Mahabir's removal and are exploring legal and other options."This is part of our plan of action. It is far from over. It has only just begun. We will continue to work to stop the runoff," Waithe said.Asked to state how the runoff could interfere with the fair process of an election, Waithe said what they were really protesting is the spirit in which the whole thing was done. That there was no consultation on the runoff is their major grouse.
Springer did not want to disclose details of their plans. "We have to be vigilant about what's going on," she said.She said it was not NGOs but mostly individuals who were protesting the bill outside Parliament.Efforts to reach Hodge and Mahabir were unsuccessful yesterday.
Guardian archive story
Following is the excerpt of the T&T Guardian article which is now being revisited by Fixin TnT in its calls for Mahabir's removal:
Economist Dr Dhanayshar Mahabir, lecturer at the University of the West Indies, has advised the Congress of the People (COP) to fold now and quickly.Contacted yesterday for his views on the outcome of Monday's general election, Mahabir said the results were a historical replay of past elections spoiled by the infamous "third party.""First off, we know now beyond any doubt that the country has no room for third force," he said.
"The third party will always be the spoiler. What we have seen is such elections favour the ruling party."He recalled the 1981 election where the Organisation for National Reconstruction (ONR) copped 91,000 votes but held no seats.This was repeated in 1991 with the National Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR) grabbing 120,000 votes but ended up seatless."Now, we see it again," he said pointing out that while the COP was able to pull some votes, even the leader Winston Dookeran lost his seat.
In addition to not winning any seats, Mahabir said, the COP had a catastrophic effect on the marginal constituencies, causing the UNC to lose those which it had won the last time around.
Guardian archive story
Following is the excerpt of the T&T Guardian article which is now being revisited by Fixin TnT in its calls for Mahabir's removal:
Economist Dr Dhanayshar Mahabir, lecturer at the University of the West Indies, has advised the Congress of the People (COP) to fold now and quickly.Contacted yesterday for his views on the outcome of Monday's general election, Mahabir said the results were a historical replay of past elections spoiled by the infamous "third party.""First off, we know now beyond any doubt that the country has no room for third force," he said.
"The third party will always be the spoiler. What we have seen is such elections favour the ruling party."He recalled the 1981 election where the Organisation for National Reconstruction (ONR) copped 91,000 votes but held no seats.This was repeated in 1991 with the National Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR) grabbing 120,000 votes but ended up seatless."Now, we see it again," he said pointing out that while the COP was able to pull some votes, even the leader Winston Dookeran lost his seat.
In addition to not winning any seats, Mahabir said, the COP had a catastrophic effect on the marginal constituencies, causing the UNC to lose those which it had won the last time around.