CALLS FOR PEACE TREATY

Dr. Francis Alexis, Chairman of the
Constitution Reform Advisory Committee.

By Linda Straker

Dr. Francis Alexis, Chairman of the Constitution Reform Advisory Committee (CRAC), has made a call for all political parties to join forces and undertake initiatives that will educate supporters and all
persons of voting age about the purpose of the Constitution Reform project.

“There is need to have that enabling environment for the project to achieve its goal; we cannot have an enabling environment if there is contention in the atmosphere. I therefore urge all concern to hold fire during that period,” said Dr. Alexis.

“Don’t tell me that they are so thirsty that they cannot hold fire for one year,” he said, while calling for a Constitution Reform Peace Treaty to be adopted by all political parties.

“It’s only for one year, so cease fire,” he said, while explaining that the project is expected to be concluded by the end of 2014.

“In the end, it’s not the Committee who will decide, but the people who will vote in the referendum and the people can only make the best choice when they have a good understanding about the entire issue,” he said.

An amendment to the constitution can only be achieved if no less than two-thirds of the voting population participates in a referendum vote in favour of the amendment.

The Committee comprises a broad cross-section of stakeholders, including the two major political parties on the island, the legal fraternity, the church and business communities as well as youth.

In an effort to educate the general population on the constitution reform initiative, the committee has embarked on a series of consultations. Dr. Alexis said that in order to ensure that as many persons as possible contribute to the reform process, the com-mittee has spilt itself into two groups with the Chairman heading the Eastern Zone, while Ruggles Ferguson, who represents the OECS Bar on the Committee, is heading the Western Zone.

“What will see happening that on any given night there can be two consultations in different venues, but when we go to Carriacou, the entire team will be in attendance,” he said.


The Tivoli Roman Catholic School was the venue for the first in a series of public consultations to be undertaken by the Constitution Reform Advisory Committee as it seeks to educate the general public about its work and heighten their awareness about the Constitution Reform initiative.

Presentations were made by members of the Constitution Reform Advisory Committee, including Chairman, Dr. Francis Alexis; Focal Point in the Ministry of Legal Affairs, Mr. Robert Branch; and other members of the Committee.

In her Throne Speech, during the ceremonial Opening of the Second Session of the Ninth Parliament, Governor General Dame Cecile La Grenade promised that constitution reform would be high on the agenda.