‘Senate reform requires cross-party support’

Constitutional affairs expert Professor Hamid Ghany says Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s proposal to guarantee Tobago representation in the Senate will require constitutional amendments and support from both the Opposition and independent senators.

During the opening of the new East Terminal at the ANR Robinson International Airport in Tobago yesterday, the Prime Minister announced that the Government intended to introduce legislation to amend the Constitution to guarantee Tobago two Independent Senate seats, in addition to its two House seats.

“I am advancing this proposal as part of my Government’s commitment to recognising Tobago as an equal partner. It is a meaningful step towards greater Tobago empowerment, ahead of the wider discussions on autonomy. Under my proposed constitutional amendment, two of the nine Senate seats currently filled by the President, acting in her discretion, must be Tobagonian. This means that, alongside Tobago’s two elected Members of Parliament in the House of Representatives, Tobago would have two constitutionally guaranteed voices in the Senate,” she said.