Politics
Political Scientist Recommends Removing Prime Minister's Power over Elections and Speaker Selection, Calls for Revamped System
A political scientist has suggested that the prime minister's power to call elections should be removed and politicians should not have a say in selecting the Speaker or Attorney General. Early elections should require a two-thirds majority vote in Parliament after three and a half years of a term. Other recommendations include selecting the Speaker and Attorney General from outside Parliament and allowing recall of members by 30% of registered voters. The Congress of Trade Unions and Staff Associations of Barbados (CTUSAB) president called for guaranteed labor representation in the Senate and a mix of elected and appointed members.
5 min read
Originally published by barbadostoday.bb (opens in new tab)
By Emmanuel Joseph
A political scientist has recommended to the Parliamentary Reform Commission (PRC) that the power to determine when elections are called should be removed from the prime minister, and politicians should no longer have a direct say in the selection of a Speaker of the House or appointment of the Attorney General.
He also suggested that early elections should not be allowed before three and a half years of a term, under a revamped system.
Devaron Bruce made the submissions on Thursday night at the Christ Church Foundation School during one in a series of town hall meetings being held by the PRC to hear the public’s views on parliamentary reform.
Bruce, who was one of five Barbadians making presentations before the panel chaired by retired president of the Senate Sir Richard Cheltenham KC, further proposed that the power of a prime minister to decide when an election is called should be removed.
“One of the concerns that I have within our parliamentary system is that our Constitution grants the prime minister the ability to call an election at will. An election ought to be a democratic exercise, but when we have a circumstance where we have the prime minister – who I consider the most partisan individual in our political system because they carry the numbers of the most partisan persons in a House, hence they become prime minister – [making that decision], then political strategy and partisanship are often foremost on the minds of that position,” he said.
“So, introducing partisanship and introducing political strategy into what ought to be a democratic process, I think is problematic.”
Bruce suggested that a decision on when elections are called should go to Parliament.
Addressing the timing of an election, he said that should also be controlled.
“You cannot have an early election in our system until parliamentarians have served three and a half years of their term. If you wish to have an election after that, you have to take it to Parliament and have a two-thirds majority vote for that election to occur,” Bruce suggested.
The political scientist also urged the PRC to consider his recommendation regarding the method of choosing the Attorney General and the Speaker of the House of Assembly.
Contending that the Speaker of the House is responsible for the management of the House, the protection and the rights of those within the House, and the minority in the House, he said that given the importance of that post, “objectivity and impartiality matter”.
