T&T may get a general election date soon, possibly today Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar hinted yesterday.
She made the comment, with slight humour, in response to a query at yesterday’s post-Cabinet media conference at the Office of the Prime Minister, St Clair.
“You’ll get your election date very soon.... who knows, maybe tomorrow...,” she told journalists.
The PM made an appearance at the briefing to confirm that Government would not be presenting the Constitutional Amendment (run-off) Bill in Parliament today as some had expected, in favour of doing more consultation on it, and that the Bill and other matters would be platform issues for the upcoming 2015 general election.
Expressing disappointment that legislation to regularise squatters was not debated in the Senate on Wednesday, she said Government would also campaign on the matter in the election.
She said her Government would want to deal in a second term with the matter, the run-off legislation and other issues still on the Parliament agenda and which were unlikely to be completed before the current term’s end.
Persad-Bissessar stressed the People’s Partnership (PP) would want to bring the squatter regularisation legislation “very early” in a second term.
The PM said the Parliament was officially due to be dissolved on June 17, next Wednesday.
PP Senate leader Ganga Singh yesterday said the Senate, which ended around 2.14 am yesterday after completing the Variation of Appropriation Bill had adjourned to a date to be fixed. Singh could not confirm whether any further sittings of the Senate would be held.
At yesterday’s briefing, Persad-Bissessar said Government had decided not to proceed with the Constitutional Amendment Bill today due to mischief created by some who felt Government was trying to “rush the bill through” before the end of the term.
The Opposition PNM had issued notice to all units on June 8 for members to assemble outside the Parliament today in red for a candle-light vigil to protest the run-off bill. But the PNM, via subsequent notice on Wednesday, had told members not to come to the Parliament since the vigil had been “rescheduled.”
The legislation had sought to create a two-term limit for the Prime Minister, institute right of recall for MPs and the controversial run-off formula was designed to ensure an MP was elected by majority vote of over 50 per cent.
It had elicited criticism from some quarters, including some Congress of the People (COP) officials, that it jeopardised smaller parties.
On the move to hold off on the legislation, the PM said: “Government will not be proceeding with this Bill since some have been stirring up concerns that Government intended to push this through on the last day of the Parliament.
“I have been reading about that and it’s creating some anxiety in the minds of the public so let me put that to rest: That we don’t intend to rush any constitutional reform Bill in the Parliament.
“The reason for my statement, which I had intended to do in the Parliament, is that this has become imperative due to mischief created by some who would want to give the public the impression we intend to rush the Bill.
“Our decision has to do with the fact that we do not want to operate as a dictatorial government and therefore we don’t want to push anything down the throats of citizens.”
She added: “I have listened to the concerns of civil society on the run-off provision and it seems better for us and in more prudent governance mode, that we hold more consultations before we proceed with a Bill of that nature.
“Therefore, we will not proceed with it. We will continue consultation and in our second term, we will take it forward should the electorate so desire.
“These issues will become matters for the election campaign and for further consultations which can then inform a legislative agenda in any second term in government which we may form.”
The Opposition PNM had issued notice to all units on June 8 for members to assemble outside the Parliament in red for a candle-light vigil to protest the run-off Bill but the PNM, via subsequent notice on Wednesday, had told members not to come to the Parliament since the vigil had been “rescheduled.”
Platform issues
Persad-Bissessar said she knew people would be disappointed that the Squatter Regularisation Bill was not completed.
She said she would have liked to have started that process but it would also become an election issue.
She pointed out that when she announced the idea at a Diego Martin UNC meeting in May, she had made it clear the PP would seek to regularise squatters in its second term. (See Page A7)
“Therefore, the opportunity is still there for us to go forward,” she added.
She said she was also disappointed that legislation to regulate the casino sector wasn’t completed in the Senate either.
She said the situation had serious implications for the gaming industry and banking sector, adding also that the unregulated sector involved 10,000-plus workers.
Another matter she was disappointed about was campaign finance reform, which lagged since a Joint Select team report came in only recently and there was insufficient time to complete it. She said the PP would want to deal with these items early in a second term legislative agenda.
The PM, however, said she was happy Government’s procurement legislation was completed.
She said that was a priority focus since it had been promised for the PP’s first term and had taken almost all of the term to be passed.