Barbadians are being encouraged to take advantage of the opportunity to determine the type of Parliament they wish and consider best suited to the island’s new republic and national circumstances.
They may do so by contributing to the Parliamentary Reform Commission’s town hall meetings, the latest to be held this Thursday, August 24, at the Christ Church Foundation School, Church Hill, Christ Church, starting at 7:00 p.m.
Commissioner, Senator Elizabeth Thompson, said the Commission is doing its utmost to be “inclusive” in the public engagement exercise to allow as many people as possible to share their views.
Senator Thompson continued: “We’re very much hoping that Barbadians will turn out in their numbers to our town hall meetings because we do want them to have their say. We want to know how Barbadians see Parliament, what changes they would like and what they think should remain, among other things.
“It’s an amazing opportunity when you consider that at Independence, we would not have had such an opportunity, but we can now determine the kind of Parliament that we want.”
Senator Thompson said over the years, a number of “controversial” matters had been raised, and these, along with others, were highlighted at the first meeting, which she described as instructive. She identified some of the issues as under representation of women in Parliament, and the implication of one political party receiving all of the seats in a General Election.
“For example, where one party wins all the seats in a General Election, should we have a mechanism that allows the party with the second largest number of votes to have some kind of representation in the Parliament? In other instances, there have been questions about the under representation of women in Parliament across the Caribbean, and I think it’s true in Barbados.
“Twenty to 30 per cent of parliamentarians, sometimes as low as 10 per cent, are female, even though the voters are primarily female, about 51 or 52 per cent of the population. So should we develop mechanisms, like quota systems, which have been tried in some European countries, to ensure greater representation of women and larger numbers of women in the Parliament?” she asked.
With regard to the Senate, she pointed out that persons queried whether it should remain as is currently constituted, or what parliamentary systems have been developed globally from which Barbados can draw, or should the island evolve its own model. Additionally, Senator Thompson said the views were advanced that the Senate should represent the interests of a wider number of Barbadians and groups, for
example, taxi drivers and the Barbados Association of Retailers, Vendors and Entrepreneurs.
“There are many questions the Parliamentary Reform Commission is concerning itself with, but there are other issues that Barbadians are putting on the table and we really want to hear from everybody,” Senator Thompson stressed.
It was recently suggested that a Parliamentary Reform Commission is not required if a Constitutional Reform Commission is currently in place. However, Senator Thompson explained: “The Constitutional Reform Commission is dealing with the wide range of matters covered under the Constitution, but the Parliamentary Reform Commission will deal with all matters specifically related to Parliament.”
Meanwhile, the Parliamentary Reform Commission is accepting written submissions, which must be no more than five to seven pages. They should be sent to Secretary of the Commission, Pedro Eastmond, by Friday, September 29. They may be emailed to PRC@barbadosparliament.com, or sent to Mr. Pedro Eastmond, Secretary, Parliamentary Reform Commission, Parliament Buildings, Bridgetown.