Professor supports plan for anti-defection legislation

Director of the School for Graduate Studies and Research at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill, Professor Dwayne Devonish, does not see anything sinister in the proposed anti-defection legislation.

A guest on Starcom Network’s Brass Tacks Sunday radio call-in programme yesterday, he said too often people felt that once a political leader said or did something, it automatically meant there was some kind of untoward, underlying motive for their opponents.

“This is something that is going to be very controversial, the whole crossing of the floor. I said, ‘Let me just read this objectively’. I think the intent was that, on the one hand, you have an MP (Member of Parliament), and we recognise that MPs do not serve parties because it’s the Westminster purist model [where] the MPs are there for the people. It is their electorate, their constituency, so how is it that you’re trying to ‘fool’ them into account, or you’re trying to block them from crossing? No, I didn’t see it like that,” he told listeners.

In the wake of the Barbados Labour Party’s (BLP) third consecutive 30-0 General Election victory last Wednesday, Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley said her Government would be seeking to introduce legislation which would require MPs who leave the party on whose ticket they were elected, to seek a fresh mandate from constituents via a by-election.

Breach of contract

Devonish said an MP crossing the floor could be tantamount to a breach of contract.

“At the end of the day, everybody votes for different reasons. I may vote, for example, for the MP because of the party mandate. Now, let me give you a case in point. The MP crosses over, now that seat is still his or hers, but let’s say those people in that constituency are left abandoned in some way, because the MP now is working on a particular way of probably looking at chasing a seat for the next election cycle and so on. Then it is almost to me a slap in the face,” he said.

The professor gave an example of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) winning four seats, but then those MPs opting to join the BLP afterwards. In such a case, he added, those who voted for the DLP members would be up in arms and asking how this could be allowed. He also gave other possibilities.

“You could have legislation where you have a recall initiative. I’ve heard this from Professor Don Marshall, an excellent recommendation. What happens in British Columbia if there’s dissatisfaction with your MP? There’s an initiation that the electorate or the constituents can actually make, where they can facilitate a recall initiative. And if that petition reaches, let’s say, 40 per cent of the registered electorate, it then signals a by-election.

“So it could be like that. I don’t think . . . that was advanced by the Prime Minister in any way. I think we have to take our time and see what it looks like,” he said.

Two seats in Senate

Another issue was Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley indicating she was again willing to offer two seats in the Senate to the losing parties, something she has done after every 30-0 election victory, but has not been accepted.

“I think it’s more to have a sustainable opposition voice,” Devonish said.

Moderator, attorney Kristin Turton, said she too saw no reason why the offer should not be accepted.

“So she’s offering to change the law, and to be honest, I don’t necessarily have a difficulty with that. I actually think that we should be giving more consideration to how opposition voices can be officially involved in the process. If I were in the [DLP] and the offer was being made, I would accept it. I was actually a little surprised that it was rejected on the last occasion,” she said.

On integrity legislation, Devonish said he was wholeheartedly in support of it, but cautioned that there needed to be the necessary enforcement.

“I think integrity legislation is absolutely critical . . . [but] I dare say, though, that with integrity legislation, we also have to put in place our institutional readiness . . . . I find that oftentimes we have legislation on the books but there’s still a lot of missing parts, especially enforcement. It doesn’t help that we have legislation in whatever area . . . and then we fall short when it comes to implementation,” he said.

(CA)

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