Respect for the media, a fixed date for general election, party finance reform and constitutional reform for meaningful conversations were among critical issues raised at a public forum on the recent 2015 general election at the Noor Hassanali Auditorium, St Augustine Campus, University of the West Indies.
It was titled 2015 General Election in T&T: Analysis of Results and Implications of Governmental Change. Panelists were economist Indera Sagewan-Alli, senior lecturer and head of UWI’s Department of Political Science Dr Bishnu Ragoonath and T&T Guardian columnists Tony Fraser and Mark Wilson.
In putting forward some recommendations for the People’s National Movement (PNM) administration, Sagewan-Alli said: “We need power to really reside in the people’s hands and it doesn’t.
“Our Constitution as it stands protects itself and it only allows those 41 people in the Lower House and those 31 people in the Upper House to determine if change takes place.
“So even though we had a People’s Partnership Government with 28 seats... a significant majority... a party which said it would bring constitutional reform, it failed so to do and the question has to be why. It probably did not serve their purpose in Government.”
She also urged the implementation of proportional representation in some “form or fashion,” adding that the right to reform should also be placed in the hands of the people for referendum.
“Even a tiny island like St Vincent, where the population is one tenth of our labour force... they have that. The people get to decide if they want change.
“Party finance reform is extremely important and this particular election really brought home the urgency for these things but I know and you know we ain’t going to get it,” Sagewan-Alli said.
On the present leadership of the United National Congress (UNC), Ragoonath said if left up to the current members with their “present DNA” then there would be no real change.
On whether the UNC had virtually threw away its chances of winning the election, Ragoonath said he believed the party was too taken up with “everything else” rather than an election victory.
“That’s why they got off the block so late. Whether or not Kamla Persad-Bissessar really wanted to be prime minister this time around that is a question that is up in the air.
“But I can tell you definitely, when I looked at the television screen election night... when we were expecting a jubilant Keith Rowley... accepting and making his victory speech I saw concern on that man’s face... what have I gotten myself into,” he added.
Fraser said he believed the UNC lost the election in the five years of misgovernance.
“Indeed, I go back to even before the party took office to look at the selection of candidates and people didn’t pay a lot of attention to that.
“But how do you select Jack Warner? What transpired after must have happened. How do you select Herbert Volney? What transpired after must have happened.
“Anil Roberts? What transpired after must have happened. Most of the fundamental things that went wrong, went wrong from day one... even before,” Fraser said.
The issue of the Election and Boundaries Commission (EBC) making public the full results some four days after also raised concern, with some calling for a reform of the EBC Act.