Reform Process
petition to the Chief Elections Officer for verification of the signa- tures of the petitioners, and if the Chief Elections Officer certifies that the requisite number of electors has in fact appended their signatures to the petition, the Governor-General shall issue a writ of referendum as requested by the public. To ensure the reliability of a ref-
erendum, the law provides for a min- imum threshold of 60 per cent of the voter turnout. Subject to this “quo- rum”, the issue or matter submitted to a referendum shall be decided by a simple majority of the votes cast. The above provision is in addition to the existing power of the National Assembly to call for a referendum on any issue or matter which it considers to be of sufficient national importance.
The Belize Constitution (Sixth Amendment) Bill, 2008 To maintain the sanctity of the con- stitutional document and to safeguard the rights and liberties of the people, the Belize Constitution prescribes a special procedure for its alteration. Most of the provisions, particularly those dealing with fundamental rights, the judiciary, service commis- sions and the elections machinery, require a three-quarters majority of all Members of the House of Representatives, while other provi- sions require a two-thirds majority. The present government – having secured 25 out of 31 seats at the last general election – possesses the requi- site majority to alter any provision of the constitution. Taking advantage of is parliamen-
tary strength, the UDP government introduced into the House as early as April 2008 a constitutional Amendment Bill of far-reaching importance, notable for some innova- tive measures not generally found in Commonwealth
jurisdictions.This Bill — the Belize Constitution (Sixth Amendment) Bill, 2008 — has already been passed by both Houses of the National Assembly and is now awaiting the Governor-General’s for- mal assent to become law. Some of the reforms contained in the Bill are worthy of mention.
Recall of elected representatives As an integral part of its good gover- nance and reform agenda,the UDP
had promised to give the electorate the power to recall elected representatives before the expiry of their normal term of
office.The provision in the Bill to give effect to this commitment is sup- plemented by a more detailed Recall of Elected Representatives Bill. Under this latter Bill, the process
for the recall of a divisional represen- tative can be initiated by a petition presented to the Governor-General signed by at least 30 per cent of the registered voters in that
division.The petitioners need give no reasons for the recall of a Member.
Once the Chief Elections Officer
has verified the authenticity of the signatures, the Governor-General must issue a Writ of Recall Referendum to the returning officer of the respective electoral division. For a recall referendum to be valid, at least 65 per cent of the registered electors in the respective division must have cast their votes. Subject to the presence of this threshold, if a simple majority of the total votes cast favour the recall of an elected repre- sentative, the Governor-General shall declare the seat of such representative vacant and arrangements will be put in place to hold a by-election to fill the vacancy. To prevent any abuse of the recall
mechanism, it is further provided that no petition for the recall of a Member will be presented (a) before the expiry of at least 18 months of that Member’s term of office, or (b) within the last one year of that Member’s term of office, or (c) more than once in the same division in the same parliamentary term. The system of recall, while not common in parliamentary democra- cies of the Westminster model, is an important tool to keep the elected representatives “on their toes” so that they remain in constant touch with their constituents. By merely initiat- ing the recall process, the constituents can send a strong message to their area representative that he or she must not become too complacent or take his or her position for granted.
Three-term limit for the Prime Minister Another novel feature of the consti- tution (Sixth Amendment) Bill is that it prescribes a three-term limit for holders of the office of the Prime
Minister.The underlying objective is to deepen democracy and to prevent the development of a “personality cult” or a “monolithic state” where one person may hold sway for life with its attendant risks of arbitrariness and authoritarianism. Political parties must remain in a state of constant evolution in order to meet the needs of the people. No one person should have a strangle- hold on any position.We must zeal- ously guard against the tendency towards the creation of plutocratic elite that engenders complacency and arrogance.
Strengthening the senate The upper House or the Senate in a parliamentary democracy is often perceived as a rubber-stamping institution which will often do the bidding of the party in
power.This is simply because the government almost invariably holds a majority in the
Senate.The Sixth Amendment Bill blazes a new trail in this respect, and for the first time in the history of Belize, the Senators appointed by the opposition and non-governmen- tal organizations together will con- stitute the majority in the Senate — a majority of seven to six. The President of the Senate will also lose his or her casting vote in the event of an equality of votes. This is a measure of self-abnegation whereby the present government is voluntarily giving up control of the Senate to enable it to perform its functions fearlessly and independ- ently. No longer will the Senate be dubbed as an “obedient servant” of the government of the day, only too willing to please its political masters. Henceforth, the government would need to enlist the support of non- aligned Senators to have a measure carried through the Senate. This amendment also extends the
powers and functions of the Senate to enable it to initiate and conduct public inquiries into complaints of misman- agement or corruption by persons in the central government or public statu- tory bodies, and to summon Ministers or public officers to answer questions relating to such enquiries. These reforms can justifiably be
characterized as the Senate “charter”, endowing it with power and authori- ty it never enjoyed before.
The Parliamentarian 2008/Issue Four 303
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