Oversight Committee can meet election deadline - Parris - Parliament group will keep Constitution under review By Patrick Denny Stabroek News January 27, 2000 A key member of the Oversight Committee on constitutional reform, Haslyn Parris is confident that the body can finish its work in time for general elections to be held by January 17, 2001. And though he agrees with the observation by constitutional expert, Bryn Pollard, SC, that it would be a difficult task to complete by the mandated deadline, still feels it is "eminently feasible". Parris is responsible for planning and monitoring the implementation of the committee's work and is credited with getting the Constitution Reform Commission's (CRC) work and report completed on time. In that process he worked closely with CRC Chairman, Ralph Ramkarran, SC. In this exercise, he will be working closely with committee Chairman, Moses Nagamootoo, and said he had no doubt that together they could get the task done. Parris also agreed with the decision taken by the committee to exclude the media from its session, explaining his position by using the analogy of a mechanic asking a customer to take a seat while he repaired his car. He explained that in asking the customer to take a seat, the mechanic was merely asking for the freedom to do his work without having the customer looking over his shoulder all the time. Responding to Pollard's observation about the competence of the Oversight Committee to address the unresolved constitutional issues, Parris said that these involved a minority of the recommendations. He said, using the example of the recommendation on the electoral system, that he would recommend that the committee seek expert advice. That advice, he said, should indicate the various options available which would satisfy the characteristics of the recommendation and if they could be implemented in time for use at the upcoming general elections. With that advice, Parris said, the committee would be eminently placed to pick the best available option. But he noted that the final approval of the choice would be that of the National Assembly. He also stressed that in forwarding its prepared brief on the recommendation as well as the rationale for its decision, the committee would also indicate the consequential changes necessary. He stressed that the legal draftsmen were not being asked to fill in gaps as they would merely be providing drafts that would have to be approved by the committee as well as the National Assembly. Parris said too that the drafting process would also require the drafts being prepared in language easily understandable by the ordinary person. Parris also referred to a recommendation which seemed to have escaped the attention of most commentators--that of a parliamentary standing committee to keep the constitution under review. He explained that the inclusion of such a mechanism signalled that it was not the intention that the process would result in the fashioning of the perfect constitution for all time. The function of the standing committee would be to monitor how well the constitution was doing what was intended to do and the amendments needed for meeting the changed circumstances of the day. With reference to the Oversight Committee's preference for doing its work without the media looking over its shoulder all the time, Parris said that the notion of secrecy was quite misplaced. He stressed that the needs of transparency would be met by the monthly reports to the media, explaining too that with its tight schedule, the committee could not "work with the speed and efficiency required if it had to stop and explain its every move all the time." Responding to concerns about the work of the committee being likened to negotiations, Parris stressed that the definition of negotiations should not be restricted to an idea of the definition of spoils but the consideration of opposing views in a situation where only a consensual view was going to prevail. Using the recommendation on the electoral system again to illustrate his point, Parris explained that it would be unreasonable to expect that either the PPP or the PNC would agree to an electoral system which militates against its chances of winning an election. He said that in trying to reach a decision on this issue, it would serve no useful purpose to have this discussion in the presence of the media as neither party might be prepared to discuss the totality of their concessions in public. Such a discussion required openness and no purpose would be served to impose the pretence of transparency on the process, he stressed. Commenting on the timetable for its work, Parris said that the committee's draft work programme was to be discussed at yesterday's meeting. Those plans call for the four of the five task forces to begin their work on February 1. The task force on the electoral system began its work on Thursday. He explained that the work of this task force is being fast- tracked, adding that there was already agreement in the CRC as to how it would be composed and this would be included in the present constitution. Parris noted too that the recommendation on the electoral system also stipulated the relationship between the Elections Commission and its secretariat which is to be made a permanent body. He said that the programme being drawn up by the committee takes into account the need for the commission to be up and running while the work of the committee was still in progress. A © page from: Guyana: Land of Six Peoples