By Anesta Henry
The Barbados Labour Party (BLP) is proposing a larger Parliament and Senate and the introduction of national MPs from whom a prime minister is chosen.
First Vice-Chairman Kirk Humphrey put forward the ruling party’s suggestion to the Parliamentary Reform Commission (PRC) during a town hall meeting on Tuesday night, saying that having additional members in the Upper and Lower Chambers would ensure a healthy democracy and stronger opposition voice.
He said the BLP proposed increasing the number of senators from 21 to 24, with opposition seats moving from two to five seats.
Humphrey said the party also believes there should be six independent senators, including representatives from the business, labour, church, youth, and disabled communities, as well as a representative from the Barbados Association of Retired Persons (BARP) or an organisation empowered to represent the elderly.
“We feel very strongly that we have to give a greater voice to the opposition. There is no doubt, and that view has been canvassed, it surely has been the role now of the media to act as the opposition in some regard – and persons on the street. We know that there needs to be a stronger voice for the opposition, even in relation to having a healthy democracy,” he said during the almost three-hour-long meeting held at the BLP’s Roebuck Street headquarters, a day after the PRC held a similar session at the Democratic Labour Party’s headquarters.
“And it is important to note that even as we do this, this is not an attempt for us to be able to make changes without consultation or to affect the Constitution – because we would still need to able to influence at least four persons, either independent senators or members of the opposition, to be able to make such changes. But it really is a genuine attempt to be able to strengthen the role of the opposition.”
Contending that the BLP has a history of putting democracy first, Humphrey proposed the introduction of national members of parliament, explaining that registered voters from around the country would be allowed to vote for those individuals.
“You go to vote in St Michael South, you vote for Kirk Humphrey who will definitely be on the ballot and who else is represented by a party for that constituency. But there would also be . . . another set of persons who would be saying ‘I will not represent St Michael South, I will represent as a national MP’ and that person’s name will be on every single ballot in the constituency. So all 30, if there are only 30 constituencies, would have a chance to vote on those persons and then the person who gets the most national votes then becomes a national MP,” he explained.
“We also propose, in relation to that, that the Prime Minister should be chosen from among those seven national members of parliament. We hold the view that a person who desires to lead a country should not only have the support of a constituency, but they should legitimately have the support of the nation and a country.”
Humphrey added: “We believe that this would add great value to the Parliament, and we also believe that we would be able to give persons in this country access to members of parliament on a national level.”
The BLP executive member said the political party also believes that the qualifying age for members of parliament should be 18 years.
He added that the party was also of the view that people who desire to cross the floor of Parliament should have to go through a by-election process.
“[Often], it is the weight of a party that helps a person to get into Parliament. And if a person determines to abandon that party, then they should test themselves in the face of the electorate,” Humphrey said.
During his presentation, he made it clear that the proposals were not set in stone and indicated that the BLP would be submitting a detailed document of its proposals and suggestions.
