Leaders of Government business in the Lower House and Senate Dr Roodal Moonilal and Minister Ganga Singh yesterday met with Senate President Timothy Hamel-Smith over an e-mail he allegedly sent out seeking to canvass support for a deferral of the Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2014. Rumours have been circulating that Hamel- Smith sent an e-mail to various people and organisations asking them to lobby for the bill to be sent before a Joint Select Committee (JSC) of Parliament.
The bill is being debated in Parliament amidst much public outcry over certain provisions. The main grouse surrounds the runoff ballot which proposes a fresh election 15 days after a general election if no candidate can secure at least 50 per cent of the votes in a constituency. However, there are fears this will eliminate third parties and force the electorate to vote for parties it does not want. Several people have suggested that Hamel-Smith should recuse himself from sitting on the bill if the allegation is true while others have called for his removal from the position altogether.
Chief among those calling for Hamel-Smith’s recusal is former head of the public service, Reginald Dumas, who said he had received a copy of the e-mail. Dumas said it appeared Hamel-Smith was no longer impartial on the issue. These calls promoted Moonilal and Singh to meet with Hamel-Smith yesterday. Asked about the meeting yesterday, however, Moonilal said: “Out of respect for his office and the confidentiality of our discussions I cannot divulge the contents of those discussions.” Hamel-Smith has neither confirmed nor denied he sent the e-mails and Parliament communications staff told the T&T Guardian he said he would not be speaking on the matter to the media. Debate on the bill in the Senate is scheduled for August 26.