DLP seeks to find out if Senate seats still on offer with constitutional change not passing

The Democratic Labour Party (DLP) wants to know if the opportunity for an opposition presence in the Senate has been scrapped for the current parliamentary term.

Acting DLP president Steve Blackett said on Friday that the party is seeking clarity from Prime Minister Mia Mottley on the issue.

Last week in the Upper House, the Government side postponed for further consideration a Constitutional Amendment Bill to make provision for two opposition senators when there is a vacancy in the office of Leader of the Opposition, and reduce the stipulated age for membership of the two Houses of Parliament from 21 to 18.

Blackett told Barbados TODAY the party “is asking the Government for some clarity to whether or not the entire Bill that was before the Senate has been withdrawn or if only the section to deal with the admittance of 18-year-olds to the Upper House and the Lower House”.

“We know that the Bill was in two parts – one to deal with what I just mentioned and also the other part to deal with amending Section 75 [of the Constitution], which would apply to Leader of the Opposition, and that is the section that is connected to the Democratic Labour Party,” he said.

The Bill was withdrawn before being put to a vote after it became apparent the required two-thirds majority support for it to pass would not be achieved, with Independent senators opposing.

Prime Minister Mottley had offered two Opposition Senate seats to the DLP after it failed to gain any House of Assembly seats in the general elections in January.

The party initially rejected the offer, saying it was not made within the “four corners of the law” and it would therefore not be complicit in any such arrangement. It subsequently said it would not rule the offer out, and after the High Court threw out a challenge to the composition of Parliament, Blackett said the DLP would consider accepting the offer.

Blackett said while the party – which mustered the second-highest number of votes at the poll and would, therefore, benefit from the amendment if passed – was not “hankering after” the seats. He however noted thathaving a presence in the Senate would be a political advantage.

“It is not a concern for us. An offer was put on the table, and as far as we are concerned, the offer is now in doubt. So we are just seeking clarity. It is nothing that we are hankering after as a party,” he insisted.

Pressed to say whether the party’s absence in the Upper Chamber would be an opportunity missed, Blackett replied: “I am a politician first of all . . . and I am a politician that is always seeking a political advantage for my political party. So, whenever there is a political advantage on the table, as long as that political advantage is cloaked within legal garb and the constitutional garb, then I will pursue that advantage.”

In a statement issued earlier in the day, the DLP noted that a Bill being postponed for further consideration usually signalled the shelving of that legislation for the current Parliamentary term, as was the case with the Integrity in Public Life Bill.

“We have waited for word of revision. The DLP has repeatedly stated its intention to accept the Senate positions once the legislation was in place for a Prime Minister to make an offer. The party has also been clear regarding seeking the direction of its councils regarding the choice.

“We would hope that the Government would seek to redraft the document to reflect the omission of the contentious clauses, revisit the debate on the provision for an Opposition, and find time and space for a full Parliamentary debate on Constitutional reform,” the party added.
emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb