Flashbacks: debating the postponing of Local Govt. Elections

The Municipal Corporations (Amendment) Act, 2007 debate:

This Bill, in our view, represents an erosion of the fundamental pillars of representative democracy. It is tied up with issues of representation. It is tied up with the rights of citizens to choose their government representatives. Indeed, it usurps the right of the citizen to recall their representatives. - Mrs. Kamla Persad-Bissessar

ether it is at the national level or local level, elections are ultimately about the right of citizens to choose who will hold office on their behalf; in whom they will entrust; the governance; whether it be local governance; whether it be national governance. - Mrs. Kamla Persad-Bissessar

Today, in looking at the governance structure and what we are trying to do is to extend the life of these local government bodies, we are taking the rights of the citizens to recall representatives. We are doing it in a context when there is a blood bathe in the country. I look at the Guardian of Monday, July 09, 2007: "Gunmen go ballistic. Six shot dead in 24-hour period." - Mrs. Kamla Persad-Bissessar

It is in this context that the Government asks for a rubber stamp to continue with its programmes and its policies; to continue with its broken promises, because we come to reason for asking this Parliament to extend the life of local government bodies. - Mrs. Kamla Persad-Bissessar

We are of the view that this Bill represents an abuse of law; it is an assault on parliamentary democracy; on representative democracy; it demonstrates the fact that Government is about the business of depriving the population of its rights; violating the tenets of everything that constitutes good and effective government. - Mrs. Kamla Persad-Bissessar

Those persons had been elected, initially, for three years. They were required to go back to the polls and the public would have a say whether they had performed to the standards that were expected. But Government doing as it was, even as miserably as it was doing then, obviously , was of the view that it would be political suicide to go to the polls at that time. They knew they would be rejected with the general election due and impending, and they did not want to take that rejection by the masses, so they did not call a local election. They postponed it, and so, here we are again. - Mrs. Kamla Persad-Bissessar

The legislation speaks to the urgency of reform, and the need to schedule the programmes in the furtherance of the process of local government reform. In describing the problems then, that caused local government not to deliver at the desired rate, the Minister said, the reform is urgent, and that word urgent in its ordinary meaning, is that the reform exercise would begin almost immediately. One year later, we all know, nothing has happened. In fact, the Minister in piloting the Bill—and if this is not so, I am prepared to give way and allow you to tell us,—said nothing in terms of what had happened with that reform agenda from when you asked for the time last year July to this year July. [Interruption] What steps had been taken? Nothing has been said, and in piloting the Bill I thought that would have been very important, where you were coming to ask the Parliament to extend the time for a further year, that you would say, look, in this year that the Parliament granted, we have done one, two, three, four and five. - Mrs. Kamla Persad-Bissessar

So why do you wait on reforms that are not coming or keep being extended and keep extending? Why are you doing that, denying citizens the right of recall, in terms of voting in their local government elections? Why? One year ago, reform, one year later, reform. Let us face the truth. The truth is obviously you do not want to face local government elections at this point in time because of the state of the country; the crisis in the country, the crime rate, [Interruption] the food prices, the disgust [Interruption] and the protests that are taking place; you are afraid of calling local government elections. - Mrs. Kamla Persad-Bissessar

You want another budget. You want to call another budget. You postpone elections, you want to call another budget so you can fill your pockets and you can go out there to attempt to buy votes. That is not going to work again. Mr. Speaker, that will not work again. [Interruption] It may have worked when you bullied your way in 2001 and 2002. The electorate is a more sophisticated electorate, a more educated population who is totally fed up of what this Government has been doing, and so it is not going to work again; postpone it now then; it is not going to work. - Mrs. Kamla Persad-Bissessar

is that you are afraid to call the local government elections at this time. [Interruption] You are afraid! [Deskthumping] You are afraid to call it because that will be the barometer of what will happen in the general elections, and you know what will happen? Do you know what is coming? You will lose that election. You will lose that election, you cannot face it, you cannot take that at this time. [Interruption] And so, while the Constitution and law give the Prime Minister and the Government powers, that authority must be exercised in a responsible manner. Government must, at all times, respect the people. - Mrs. Kamla Persad-Bissessar

You do not need to have reform stopped at election. Tell me why it is necessary for the reform process to stop election for a third year. Why is it necessary to subvert and prevent the citizens and electorate of this land from exercising their democratic right? I come back to the issue of procedural democracy, and I said one major pillar of that democracy has to do with election. - Mrs. Kamla Persad-Bissessar

The Municipal Corporations (Amendment) Act, 2008 debate:

Why do we need to postpone election for another year because of the reform process? Go ahead and do your reform, there is absolutely nothing wrong with the reform ongoing, you could reform as you have been doing since the year 2002 when you came into office six years ago, you can continue to 2020, but do not stop the people from exercising their democratic right. [Desk thumping] This is what I have serious problems with - Mrs. Kamla Persad-Bissessar

Then we came back again in 2007 and the same thing happened. What the Government did was to take the vote of every citizen in Trinidad and Tobago, and cast them in favour of existing councillors, and that is what I meant by subverting the procedural democracy. It took the votes of the citizens—all who would have voted in the local government election—and by this legislation you will be doing it again, you will be casting that vote in favour of existing councillors. The electorate out there, the burgesses want the right to fire some of those councillors because it is about accountability. You have no right of recall in our system, but because of the period set by the statute, at the end of the three-year period, you have the right of recall because you can cast your vote for or against. That is the system, and that is where the accountability in the democracy comes in, that is part of the substantive and procedural democracy; that the burgesses can say: “I don’t want you anymore. You have failed, you have not functioned, therefore, I should be able to exercise my vote and get rid of you.” - Mrs. Kamla Persad-Bissessar

So there is absolutely no accountability according to the Constitution. We are in breach of that provision. They do not account to this Parliament, and they will not account to the electorate because those are the two mechanisms provided for us in the law and in the democracy, that you account to the people through election and through the Parliament and its representatives and none has been done. - Mrs. Kamla Persad-Bissessar

What is the reason for postponing the election? It cannot be reform because reform can be ongoing. Reform is something that we do all the time. In every ministry I am sure that you are ongoing in modernizing and reforming. That does not mean that you stop the democratic process for that to happen. - Mrs. Kamla Persad-Bissessar

Many of us are of the view that the stalling of elections is because the Government is afraid to face the people of Trinidad and Tobago. Why? We come back to the MORI poll. In food prices there has been an increase of 218 per cent since this Government came into office. Since they came into office inflation is 53 per cent, from then to now. - Mrs. Kamla Persad-Bissessar

As I close, Mr. Speaker, I am not convinced that any good reason has been given for stopping the local government elections in order to allow the reform process to take place. The reform process is ongoing, will continue to take place, will continue in process, but the election should go on. This is the third time we are coming, we do not support it. Therefore, Mr. Speaker, I am of the respectful view that the reasons given for this Bill are not the true reasons and in fact, at the bottom line of it the Government is afraid to face the electorate because of its incompetence, its mismanagement and corruption in the entire system. I thank you, Mr. Speaker. - Mrs. Kamla Persad-Bissessar