I hope this helps end the debate on when the next general election will be called. Its a two part article by Winford James on the topic. After reading it I get the impression the election is constitutionally due within 3 months after the current Parliament term ends. That should be on June 18th. The election should be called by September 18th (if its not called before June 18th of course.......)
Part 1..When, the next general election?By Winford JamesIn an article of September 26, Peter Taylor, a former minister in Patrick Manning’s last star-crossed administration, observed as follows:
“The last general election was held in Trinidad and Tobago on May 24, 2010 and therefore the Government’s five-year term of office ends on May 23, 2015. (…) The Government is therefore morally and constitutionally obliged to call the general election no later than May 23, 2015.”
And at the recent People’s National Movement (PNM) convention on November 16, Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley is reported to have stated that the life of the Parliament ends in June 2014 and a general election can only be held in the 90-day period following June 2015 if there is an emergency.
These two observations were reactions to the declaration by the PM and the AG that the general election can be officially called by September 2015.
So who is right? And more importantly, how can we know?
The Government holds that the 2015 general election can be held in September. The Opposition holds that it must be held in June. And Mr Taylor holds that it should not only be held in May but gives the latest date by which it must be: May 23! Indeed, Mr Taylor says he is preparing to take the matter to court for a determination! How can the understanding of these four people on this matter be so diverse?
Mrs Kamla Persad-Bissessar and Anand Ramlogan are both lawyers—Senior Counsel, if you please—and the former has been in Parliament for over a decade. Dr Rowley is not a lawyer (though his wife and his party’s public relation officer are!) but he has been in Parliament for over two decades. And Mr Taylor is a lawyer and also spent some time as a minister in Mr Manning’s ill-fated government. And yet they have all come up with different months!
What therefore should the man-in-the-street think? What should your columnist think?
Unfortunately, your columnist is not a lawyer, and he may not even qualify as the lowest form of lawyer —the bushie. But, fortunately, he has been dealing with texts and discourses all his life, and has taught text and discourse analysis (what is popularly called “comprehension’’) all of his working life. Using that experience, he has gone to the place where the authorising text lives—the Constitution. He allows that our four protagonists may have gone to the constitution before making their pronouncements, but he has no proof that they did. Indeed, if he were to go by Mr Taylor’s written article as an example, he finds no invocation of the relevant clause(s) and, consequently, no analysis of it/them. How, he wonders, can one argue for a specific election date without reference to an authorising text or, in its absence, an authorising convention?
Of course, it is appreciated that texts are not necessarily self-explanatory but almost always need to be interpreted. It is further appreciated that a robust interpretation depends in part on the cross-referencing of many texts, which may not be feasible in one column, and in further part on contextual knowledge, which is quite feasible. But we need to go to text in any case. Let’s focus on part III of the Constitution “Summoning, prorogation and dissolution’’ and start with clause 67. (1): “Each session of Parliament shall be held at such place within Trinidad and Tobago and shall commence at such time as the President may by proclamation appoint.’’
We are currently with our tenth Parliament and, if memory serves me right, it was “appointed’’ on June 18, 2010. Let’s go next to 68. (2): “…Parliament, unless sooner dissolved, shall continue for five years from the date of its first sitting after any dissolution, and shall then stand dissolved.’’ The tenth Parliament started sitting on June 18, 2010 when it elected Wade Mark as Speaker. If we count five years from that date, we get June 17, 2015.
Is this why Dr Rowley seemed to be saying that the election should be held in June 2015?
Let’s go thirdly to 69 (1): “A general election of members of the House of Representatives shall be held at such time within three months after every dissolution of Parliament as the President, acting in accordance with the advice of the PM, shall appoint.’’
This clause is saying that within 90 days (if we allow 30 days per month) after June 17, the general election must be held. Ninety days takes us to Tuesday, September 15, 2015. Is this why the PM and the AG have been insisting that the election can be called in September?
(To be continued)
http://www.trinidadexpress.com/commentaries/When-the-next-general-election-284697471.html
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