Dookeran wants term limits, fixed election dates

Winston Dookeran has called on citizens to be part of a political renaissance the hallmarks of which will be integrity and high ideals.

He said his Congress of the People (COP) is the party of unity in Trinidad and Tobago and appealed to everyone who is serious and sincere about unity to join "the dialogue that we have proposed to bring about the unities of all the people of Trinidad and Tobago".

The COP leader spoke at his weekly meeting, which was held Tuesday in the village of Paramin, just outside Port of Spain.

And he used the opportunity to denounce Prime Minister Patrick Manning and Opposition Leader Basdeo Panday for what he said is their neglect of Trinidad and Tobago.

Dookeran stated that for the past 18 years they have governed the country in political musical chairs and the result has been failure. He told his supporters that if they want to arrest the continued deterioration of the country and free themselves from servitude they have to "change around the chairs".

He said, "They have been the architects of the failure of Trinidad and Tobago; they could no longer be the people that will bring the solution to our nation."

Dookeran said COP was born "out of the hearts and desires of this nation for something different - that is why the Congress of the People three years ago came on the scene to say, 'the past is the past, let us now roll up our selves and tackle the future with confidence, integrity, courage and with purpose'."

The former Central bank governor spoke about income disparities, poverty and the growing helplessness of the masses and the inability or reluctance of those "intoxicated with power" to do something to correct the problems, which include runaway crime.

He said it is time to change all of that and outlined his formula for constitutional reform, which includes term limits for government leaders and proportional representation to replace the current electoral model.

"For too long Prime Ministers have gotten drunk with power - not drunk with the word of God, but drunk with power. And when they stay there long enough, and they get re-elected they get even more drunk with power," as he made his case for term limits.

He said the obsession with power creates the false notion that leaders are above the people because they can continue to get elected for eternity.

That's why he is proposing a two-term limit for the prime minister. "We do not want to create a situation where there are Prime Ministers for life and Opposition leaders for life. We shall curtail their terms so that fresh blood, new people shall come in the wings to deal with the new generations," Dookeran said.

He also said his idea for a new constitution would also put a fixed date on elections so politicians would no longer be able to use it for political blackmail.

"So when you elect us for five years, we know we have five years and we have to be accountable for five years and we don’t have to tempt you with elections. That is what they do," he declared.

He also made a case for proportional representation, which he said would have given COP representation in the nation's Parliament with the 24 per cent popular support the party received in the 2007 election when it first faced the polls.

"Almost one in four persons voted for us, but yet, we are not represented in Parliament. That is why the opposition leader could get up and say- they have no damn seat, what they talking about?" he said.

He reiterated that while the opposition and the government and sitting down on the job on their "seats" COP is ready and willing to "stand up" for all the people, including those who put the PNM and UNC in Parliament.

Dookeran said COP's proposal is for a mixed system that incorporates the first-past-the-post system and proportional representation.

"We will ensure that no vote will be left without representation in Parliament in the future of Parliaments in Trinidad and Tobago because the people’s votes are what really matters because you have a sovereign right, and you cannot be disfranchised by a system which simply keeps two gatekeepers in charge," he said in reference to Manning and Panday.

Dookeran spoke of a threat of the Independence of the Judiciary which the Chief Justice has complained about under the new constitution proposed by Manning. He was adamant that any new constitution must guarantee that there is going to be no political interference in the Judiciary.

"We want them to stand up and dispense justice equally to all according to the laws of the country and on the notion of fairness. So we shall ensure that we put in place a constitution that protects the integrity of the Judiciary...without political interference. That is modern society that we want to build," he said.

"I don’t understand why Mr. Panday wants to be the longest serving opposition of all time and why Mr. Manning, who has presided over the failure of this nation on so many fronts, will have the heart to say that he has succeeded because he has put up one or two shinning buildings in Port of Spain," he said.