These are some common questions associated with the Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2014 and answers to help citizens to understand that the power lies with the people. TERM LIMITS FOR A PRIME MINISTER Q: What will the amendment do? A: • The Bill seeks to amend the Constitution to provide term limits for the holder of the office of Prime Minister. • 10 years, 6 months of service as a Prime Minister would be an automatic bar to any future appointment by the President of the same person to that Office. • This measure requires a simple majority in both Houses of Parliament to amend section 76(1) of the Constitution of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. Q: WHY SET TERM LIMITS FOR PRIME MINISTERS? A: • This will limit the access to power of any single individual for more than two terms or ten years, six months. • In this way, the concept of a “maximum leader” is eliminated. • Parties will now be required to engage in succession planning in putting forward leaders from their ranks to be offered to the electorate. • This Government is committed to succession planning and giving people an opportunity to lead. • Term limits are used in many countries, and work effectively. One example of a country that follows the Westminister system that uses term limits is Thailand. • Countries such as Brazil, Guyana, the United States of America, Finland, Ireland and France use term limits for their Heads of State. • Also the concept of term limits as a principle of governance is not foreign to Trinidad and Tobago - we use it in respect of our President. RIGHT OF RECALL FOR MPs Q: What is the amendment to the Constitution for right of recall? A: • This constitutional amendment will allow citizens to recall an MP, who, in their opinion, is not serving them effectively. • The measure requires a simple majority in both Houses of Parliament to amend section 49 of the Constitution of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. Q: WHAT EXACTLY IS THE RIGHT OF RECALL? A: • This Government believes every elected Member of Parliament must be accountable to the people. • This is about bringing power to the people of TT. • The proposed amendment would create the ability to recall individual Members of the House of Representatives after the expiration of three years from the date of election. • The right of recall is a term used to describe a process whereby the electorate can petition to trigger a vote between scheduled elections on the suitability of an existing elected representative to continue in office. • This right would only be exercisable after a Member has been in office for three years, so enough time would be given for accurate assessment. • In order for the recall petition to be approved it must be affirmed by two-thirds of the registered voters in the constituency. • An application for a petition must be supported by at least ten percent of the registered voters in the subject constituency. • Once this is achieved, the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) will issue a recall petition which constituents can sign at certain places designated by the EBC for this purpose. • The recall petition will be gazetted and advertised in two daily newspapers and remain open for a period of 21 days including weekends to allow constituents a full and fair opportunity to participate. • Once a minimum of two thirds of the registered voters is attained, the EBC reports this fact to the Speaker who will declare the seat vacant and direct that a by-election be held. • Right of recall legislation has been used successfully in other countries, such as Switzerland and the Philippines. It is also used in South Korea, Taiwan and Argentina amongst others. • Nineteen states in the United States of America and the Canadian province of British Colombia have also implemented right of recall. Q: HOW WILL CONSTITUENTS BENEFIT FROM THIS MOVE? A: • This will serve as a Performance Appraisal for elected Parliamentarians, and makes them more accountable to their constituents. • The Government is committed to greater citizen participation and accountability for public officials. • If the electorate loses confidence in its representative then that person can be recalled provided that the proper procedure is followed. • This is the ultimate expression of bringing power to the people. RUN-OFF ELECTION Q: HOW DOES THIS RUN OFF WORK? A: • The constitutional amendment for a run-off election would ensure that only a candidate winning more than half of the votes cast in an election will be able to get elected as an MP. • The run off system is a fine tuning of the existing first past the post (FPTP) electoral system and does not violate the character of the Constitution of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and requires only minimal amendments to the Representation of the People Act. • The run off system will operate on a constituency basis: 1. Where no candidate wins a clear majority of more than 50 per cent of the votes cast, no winner would be immediately declared. 2. The candidates with the highest and second highest votes would be entered on a ballot for the runoff to be held two weeks after the initial vote. 3. The candidate who wins the runoff election will do so with more than 50% of the votes cast and will be declared the Member of Parliament, as there can be no minority winner under this system. • The measure requires a simple majority of both Houses of Parliament to amend Section 70 of the Constitution of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. Q: IS THIS MEASURE REALLY NECESSARY?WILL IT NOT PUT A BURDEN ON THE ELECTORATE? A: • We feel that every MP must be endorsed by more than 50 per cent of the electorate in order to hold office. • Run-off elections strengthen democracy and ensure that the balance of power is always tipped in favour of the People, not the Government. This provision has worked in a number of democracies around the world, including France, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Uruguay and Portugal. Q: What about the cost? Holding a second poll just two weeks after the initial vote – what is the additional cost to taxpayers? A: • Of course, the additional process of voting in those constituencies where no candidate received more than 50% of the votes cast will require additional resources, and this will lead to additional costs. • However, we believe the benefits outweigh the costs, as this measure ensures that every vote counts and the candidate that wins the election is a true reflection of the will of the people. Q: But run-off elections were not in the NCCR Report. So why is this measure being introduced now? A: • You are correct; this was not outlined in the NCCR’s initial report. • You will recall that the Commission conducted four additional consultations earlier this year, and produced an addendum to the report. • The Commission stands by its recommendation for the retention of the first past-the-post system for the House of Representatives; however, any opportunity to make the first past-the-post system for election to the House of Representatives a fairer one will be welcomed by the Commission. • The addendum stated, “The process of fairer representation will provide a superior democratic foundation for election to the House of Representatives and general effect can be given to this by the use of a runoff system of elections in those constituencies where no candidate has been elected by a margin greater than 50% of the votes cast for all candidates in such constituencies.” • Bear in mind that these changes are the start of a comprehensive reform process, which we feel is important in order to empower citizens and strengthen our democracy.
Posted on: Thu, 07 Aug 2014 18:50:45 +0000
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