Dear Editor,
An announcement was recently made on the appointment of a constitutional commission to review the 1980 Burnham constitution and recommend changes. Elections are due in about fifteen months. Will anything come of constitutional reform? All promises to change the constitution were broken by every government. Can the two dominant parties agree on anything on reforms?
In the last attempt at some kind of reform, around 2011, they agreed and collaborated to reduce the powers of the people. Will they further reduce the powers of the people or empower them this time around with some meaningful reforms like decentralization of powers, giving powers to civic groups to review policies, making constitutional commissions truly independent, among others.
The two major parties had never really agreed on independence and constitutional reform since the 1950s after the split of the original PPP. A constitution had to be imposed in 1964 and it was fiddled to favour one side over the other. Not contented with his powers as Chief Executive post independence, Forbes Burnham created his own constitution in 1980 without approval from the opposition or the people as required by the then constitution. The PPP and other opposition parties vehemently opposed the Burnham constitution of 1980 which was the result of the 1978 rigged referendum. The rigged referendum itself was a result of the rigged elections of 1968 and 1973. In effect, the country has been governed under a rigged constitution.
The PPP and all opposition parties and civic groups campaigned against and vowed to replace the constitution if there was ever change in government. The PPP came into government in 1992 and decided to retain the Burnham constitution. Opposition Leader Desmond Hoyte, who previously opposed constitutional reforms, demanded change after he lost two consecutive elections — 1992 and 1997. There was violence to demand constitutional reforms. There were limited changes in 2001. The people played no role in the 1978 referendum because of the rigging, no role in the 1980 constitution that was foisted on them, and in the 2001 reforms. They were not allowed to vote for any changes as required by the 1966 independence constitution.
The easiest constitutional reform would be to start from scratch and respect the independence constitution. Dump the current constitution since it never received the consent of the governed! Return to the 1964/66 independence constitution that empowered the people! And consult the people on proposed changes to it before drafting a new one to be followed by a referendum. The population should also have the option to choose between a newly drafted constitution and the independence constitution.
Sincerely,
Vishnu Bisram
