Former prime minister Basdeo Panday is reiterating his call for constitutional reform.
In a GML interview, Panday said this is needed in order to create an executive presidency, where every eligible citizen would be able to cast a ballot to elect a President.
Panday’s statement comes in light of the upcoming meeting of the Electoral College on January 20th, to appoint a President.
He said there needs to be a greater separation of powers in T&T.
“It is not a question of the President and the powers or anything, it is a question of constitutional reform which separates the Parliament, the legislative from the executive, once that happens, all our problems are over.”
Panday said, “There should be a president, an executive president, elected by the entire electorate on the basis of one man, one vote.
“The President should be the head of the executive arm of the country and the Parliament should be in charge of the electoral arm, the legislative arm, but you have to separate those two powers,” he said.
Panday said there was “absolutely not enough” separation of powers, as the ruling party gets to have their pick by way of their majority vote for the President’s office.
He said if the People’s National Movement (PNM) Government and the Opposition United National Congress (UNC) worked together, constitutional reform could happen “overnight.”
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