Volume 21 Issue 24: June 23, 2011 - fp Turks and Caicos

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04 LOCAL
U.K. agrees to revise
some reform proposals Elections
June 23, 2011 _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ www.fptci.com
CHANGES from page 1
gest concession, the parties won
their fight to preserve the election
method and number of
members in the House of Assembly,
in part because Bellingham
said he was “adamant” that
the country not adopt a proportional
voting system. U.K. voters
recently decided overwhelmingly
to keep first past the post voting
for Parliamentary elections.
Advisory Council member
Doreen Quelch-Missick told
Bellingham in her opening
statement that most council
members were in favor of proportional
voting as proposed,
saying the current method “has
lent itself to political pandering;
it has been nothing, but divisive
and is vulnerable to manipulation.”
But she said she was persuaded
that the proposed system was
too complicated and could delay
returning the country to elected
government.
The House of Assembly is currently
made up of 15 members
elected from single-member
districts, plus four appointed
members — one by the governor,
two by the premier and one
by the leader of the opposition.
Constitution advisor Kate Sullivan
said 15 was enough, and that
the appointed members should
be eliminated because they only
served to increase the majority’s
membership.
Bellingham agreed with politicians
that the number of ministers
should remain the same at
19, except that only 10 of them
will be elected from singlemember
districts, with five others
elected at large countrywide.
Four members would still be
appointed, but the governor
would appoint two at his discretion
and two after consultation
with the premier and the leader
of the opposition. No one who
has unsuccessfully stood for
election could be appointed,
and they should be “persons
representing shades of opinion
which would not otherwise be
represented in the House.”
Bellingham also approved a
term limit for premier of two
consecutive four-year terms,
unless at least one term has expired
since the office was last
held.
Belonger issues
Sullivan also recommended
allowing the governor to appoint
someone other than a
Belonger as deputy governor,
who would be head of the public
service. But Bellingham agreed
with overwhelming objections
against allowing a non-Belonger
to be deputy governor.
Consultative Forum Chairwoman
Lillian Misick was
among those attending the
meetings who called for a move
away from the term Belonger,
suggesting it be changed to citizen.
Bellingham agreed that it
be changed, but to Turks and
Caicos Islander throughout the
Constitution.
Sullivan also had recommended
adding the definition
of and conditions for being a
Turks and Caicos Islander to
the Constitution. Bellingham
agreed to remove the definition
but retained the minimum conditions.
Those conditions require
that an applicant be a British
overseas territories citizen or a
British citizen who has held a
permanent residence certificate
for a period of at least five years,
or who has been a legal resident
for a period of at least 10 years.
Applicants also cannot be serving
a sentence in any country or
been declared bankrupt in any
country if the bankruptcy has
not been discharged.
Public Service Commission
Sullivan had recommended
that the governor be given authority
to reduce the size of the
five-member Public Service
Commission (PSC) to three
members and to appoint them
at his discretion after consulting
with the premier and the
leader of the opposition. The
2006 Constitution forces the
governor to accept one appointment
each from the premier
and the leader of the opposition.
Bellingham decided that
PSC membership stay at five,
with the governor making all
five appointments, including
the chairman. However, the
governor would be required to
consult with the premier on selecting
one member, the opposition
leader for one member
and Civil Service Association
for one member. And he would
have to consult with all three
on the choice of a fifth member.
Changes would also give the
governor final say in making
appointments to public offices
and in disciplining those officials
without having to follow
recommendations of the PSC.
The 2006 Constitution forces
him to listen to the PSC unless
instructed by the Secretary of
State or Her Majesty.
Local councils
One request that was unanimous
across the smaller islands
during public consultations
was the need for local councils
to deal with local issues. The
Constitution will soon require
that an ordinance be passed to
“provide for the establishment
and functions of local councils
to contribute to effective local
government in the islands.”
Freedom of Information
The TCI has never had a
Freedom of Information Act
(FOIA), but the 2002 Constitutional
commission recommended
one, and both political
parties renewed that call in September
in their All-Party Commission
report on the Constitution
and election reform. It was
called for again during public
consultations.
Bellingham agreed that the
Constitution will be amended
to require an ordinance to
“provide for a right of access to
information held by public authorities,
for the conditions for
the exercise of that right, and
for restrictions and exceptions
to that right in the interests of
international relations, the security
of the Islands and the
United Kingdom, public safety,
public order, public morality or
the rights and interest of individuals.”
Bellingham’s Constitution decisions
On the electoral system, I recognise
that many people share
our concerns about the transactional
politics which have existed
in TCI for many years. But
I also understand the political
parties preference for the first
past the post voting system. I
am willing to drop our proposal
for a mixed member proportional
system, and remain with
the present system where all
elected members of the House
of Assembly are elected by the
first past the post system.
House membership
I understand a number of options
for the membership of the
House have been discussed. I
consider that 10 constituency
members, 5 “at large” or “territory
wide” members and 4 appointed
members would be the
best arrangement. I also want
to see the Electoral Boundary
Commission as drafted by my
officials.
Term limits
On term limits, I would like to
include a provision along the
lines of that in the Cayman Constitution
so that the Governor
shall not appoint as Premier a
person who has held office as
Premier during two consecutive
Parliamentary terms, unless
at least one Parliamentary term
has expired since he/she held
Islands. They deserve a great future.”
Bellingham said there was a
sense of suspicion that the meetings
arranged by the Foreign and
Commonwealth Office (FCO)
were a sham and that nothing
would be accomplished, but he
believes the outcome should dispel
that thought.
Both party leaders believe they
got some good results along with
disappointments.
“I thought the meetings went
as well as could have been expected
in the circumstances,”
said Clayton Green, leader of
the Progressive National Party.
“I think we did not come back
empty handed. Having said that,
I thought on some key issues the
British administration could
have given more than they gave
and in other cases they did not
have to go where they went.”
“One thing I was really annoyed
by was the fact that without
it being in Kate Sullivan’s
recommendations on the second
day of the discussion we heard
the minister wished to see term
limits for the premier. That came
out of left field, and to this day
the U.K. administration, members
of the FCO have not been
able to present any argument as
to why that should be the case.”
People’s Democratic Movement
Leader Doug Parnell said
his team had a few disappointments
but for the most part he
was pleased with the outcome.
“Well, I’ll never be satisfied
until we can achieve the type of
self determination for our people
that would provide every man
and woman who call themselves
office.
Governor’s powers
On the Governor’s powers, I
firmly believe reserved powers
should be increased in order
to ensure the Constitution is
sufficiently robust, to guard
against a return to the situation
that led to the Commission of
Inquiry. Any decision to use
such reserve powers would not
be taken lightly. However, I am
willing to accept the amendments
agreed with my officials
to require the Governor to
consult the Secretary of State
before exercising many of these
powers, thus providing a check
on the Governor in the exercise
of his functions.
Governor accountable
As a number of concerns
have been raised about this
throughout the consultation
process, I would like to reiterate
that the Governor is not
above the law. With extremely
limited and specific exceptions,
the Governor can be held to
account for his or her actions in
the courts like any other public
official, which reflects the position
in other OTs.
Belongership
On Belongership, I accept the
request to remove the provisions
that we had taken from
a Turks and Caicos Islander full
and complete satisfaction of
what’s in our own Constitution;
however, I must say that given the
point where we started from in
the draft, and certainly coming
out of the recent history where
the constitution was suspended
and the legislature disbanded, I
must say I think we have made
some great strides in these direct
talks with U.K. ministers.”
Parnell didn’t support the premier’s
term limit, but he said it
was not a “deal breaker.” However,
he was not pleased that the
absolute right to a jury trial was
stricken from the Constitution.
“I must say I was disappointed
that I did not get the type of
support that I was expecting to
get from other delegates on that
provision, so I’m very, very disappointed
in that, that’s a very
sad thing for me to report,” Parnell
said.
Consultative Forum Chairwoman
Lillian Misick has been
at odds with the party leaders,
criticizing them for refusing to
take part in consultations and
for their support of protests and
marches. But she was pleased
fp
the immigration ordinance
on Belongership by right. I am
pleased that we have agreed
on the inclusion in the Constitution
of the minimum conditions
for the grant of Belongership.
Turks and Caicos Islander
I welcome the agreement
that the term Belonger should
be replaced with Turks and Caicos
Islander.
Deputy governor
On the Deputy Governor,
I agree that the Constitution
should confirm that the Deputy
Governor should be a Turks and
Caicos Islander.
Trial by jury
On the issue of trial by jury, I
am not prepared to change the
draft Constitution. I would like
to reiterate that trial by jury is
not being abolished. The relevant
ordinance merely provides
flexibility where it appears to
the presiding judge that trial by
jury would not meet the interests
of justice. There is a similar
provision in UK law.
Preamble
I can accept the new preamble
which clearly affirms TCI’s
religious beliefs.
Source: Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Compromises please most delegates
Delegates from page 1
New preamble to Constitution
The people of the Turks and Caicos Islands as a God-fearing
people with convictions based on sound Christian culture, values
and principles, tolerant of other religions;
Affirm their intention to:
▶▶maintain the highest standards of integrity in their daily living;
▶▶commit to the democratic values of a just and humane society
pursuing dignity, prosperity, equality, love, justice, peace and
freedom for all;
▶▶ensure a vibrant diversified economy, work to provide full employment
opportunities, and protect their posterity.
Now, therefore, the following provisions shall have effect as
the Constitution of the Turks and Caicos Islands.
with the outcome of the meetings.
“I am confident that, despite
the protests of a vocal minority,
the vast (silent) majority of our
people will proudly embrace our
new Constitution when it comes
into force in due course,” Misick
said.
“I hope this experience will
help these party leaders see the
wisdom now of working with the
forum to meet the other milestones
that Mr. Bellingham and
Alan Duncan, minister of state
for International Development,
set out for return to home rule.
Most notable in this respect are
the efforts underway to return
our budget to surplus and reform
our civil service.”
Advisory County member
Doreen Quelch-Missick said
she too was happy with the outcome.
“I feel confident that going
forward, we will have the right
Constitution for this time in our
history. The team at the FCO
and Minister Bellingham were
quite receptive to our positions,
and I would like to express my
sincere thanks and appreciation
to the FCO team.”