THE MOVEMENT for Social Justice (MSJ) has written an “open letter” to President Anthony Carmona, calling on him to withhold his assent to the controversial Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2014, until he is “completely satisfied” the reform process, “could pass a proper test” of transparency. The argument put forth by MSJ Political Leader, David Abdulah, is that under Section 61 (2) of the Constitution, the President has the power to withhold his assent to a Bill. Section 61 (2) states “When a Bill is presented to the President for assent, he shall signify that he assents or that he withholds his assent.” “In our view, that power is conferred on him as a member of Parliament. Most citizens do not realise that in Section 39 of the Constitution, ‘There shall be a Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago which shall consist of the President, the Senate and the House of Representatives,’ and therefore the Parliamentary process of approval of a Bill is not complete until the President gives his assent.” Abdulah was speaking to reporters during a press conference at the Communication Workers Union head office on Henry Street, Port-of-Spain yesterday. The MSJ leader then pointed out that Carmona’s powers of assent are “quite different from the proclamation of an Act, which is done by the President on the advice of the Cabinet.” Hence the party’s view that the President does indeed have “independent powers of assent,” and he must therefore “withhold assent” because the Bill “fails the test set by His Excellency for an appropriate process.” Abdulah then reminded of what Carmona said recently during his Independence Day address on August 31 — “These attempts to refresh the foundation of our nationhood must, however, be conducted in an atmosphere that is transparent, well-informed, inclusive, tolerant and driven by critical analysis...Actively engaging in the discourse and discussion is the right of every citizen and the responsibility of every elected and appointed representative.” Referring to the above quote, Abdulah said the MSJ understands that “at no point in time in the Ramadhar process (Prakash Ramadhar-led Constitutional Reform Commission) was there any discussion, either publicly or otherwise, or in the report, with respect to having runoff elections.” “Therefore there has been no transparency, there was no involvement of citizens in engagement and discussion. And if it fails the test which (Carmona) set, he should withhold his assent from this Bill in the national interest.” In addition to writing a six-page letter to Carmona, the MSJ will hold an evening vigil outside President’s House on the eve of Republic Day September 24. “We start at 6 pm opposite Memorial Park and we will walk, with candles, around the Queen’s Park Savannah to opposite the President’s House, where we will engage in a vigil until 10 pm. This is to say to the President that citizens are very concerned about the situation, and are calling on him to withhold his assent. It is also to demonstrate our (MSJ) serious concern about the state of governance, generally, in the country,” Abdulah stated.
Posted on: Sat, 20 Sep 2014 15:57:14 +0000