Panday supports Executive President

However Panday is arguing that the recommendations, as outlined in the draft constitution, to elect an Executive President were all wrong.

In outlining the draft constitution in the House of Representatives on August 18, Prime Minister Patrick Manning said the Lower House should elect the President and Vice-President in separate elections by secret ballot. Manning said these office holders could be removed from office by a no-confidence motion in the Lower House, an elected Lower House MP can be nominated as a presidential candidate and the President could only serve two terms (ten years) in office.

Panday told Newsday that while he supports the principle behind the post of Executive President, the holder of that office should be elected by the people through a process of “one man, one vote.” He argued that if this is not done, the President would have the exact powers which the Prime Minister now wields under the present Constitution and all that would have happened would have been merely a change to the name of the office.

Panday also disagreed that not more than six members of the Cabinet, as suggested in the draft constitution, should be appointed from the Lower House, three from the Senate and the rest from “outside of the Parliament.” He said the President should have the power to appoint the most qualified persons to the Cabinet from wherever they could be found.

Asked if he believed the recommendation for the Chief Justice to be appointed by the President, after consultation with the Opposition Leader and President of the Law Association, would ensure that there is no political interfence in the affairs of the Judiciary, Panday said he could not offer an opinion and would need to study that recommendation in more detail.

Manning said the draft constitution suggested that this particular recommendation would be subject to a negative resolution of Parliament. The draft constitution also proposed that the Caribbean Court of Justice replace the Privy Council as TT’s final appellate court, the Opposition Leader be removed by a no-confidence motion of Lower House MPs opposed to the Government and for an enlarged Senate.