Introduction
Constitutional reform has a longstanding familiarity in the English-speaking Caribbean. Since these nations gained independence, the English-speaking Caribbean’s (ESC) constitutional statutes have changed comparatively little. A few nations in the area have recently made significant changes to their constitutions. The electoral process is an important institutional component of any system’s fundamental framework for political life. Additionally, the First Past the Post system, which utilizes single-member districts and candidate-centered voting, is the most straightforward variety of the plurality or majority framework. In this respect, ESC parliaments are free and independent and serve as the gatekeepers to constitutional reform. As was the case with the original adoption of the parliamentary system, incumbent lawmakers are not likely to suggest or agree to reform efforts that might jeopardize their leadership roles. Therefore, various reasons, including the need to improve government accountability and good governance, have driven these reforms (Phillip-Durham, 2020). This study compares the constitutional development of these countries’ electoral systems (proportional versus first-past-the-post) and looks ahead to the opportunities and difficulties of regional constitutional amendments.
The Current Challenges and Issues and Why Electoral Process Reform is Needed
The English-speaking Caribbean needs constitutional reform amid several current difficulties and problems. There is less chance that the Westminster system will undergo significant change as a result of the electoral process constitutional reform. Constituent power has never been placed with the citizens, in keeping with the area’s colonial past. The absence of accountability and transparency in administration is one of the biggest problems (Boejoekoe et al., 2021). This issue has caused corruption to rise and governance standards to generally deteriorate. Institutional flaws have resulted from it, and social norms are mirrored in the degree to which official bribery, the infiltration of crime syndicates into politics, the theft of public funds, favoritism, and patronage are tolerated.
As a result, the Caribbean people now doubt the worth of their electoral process, political structures, and the integrity of public servants, including police officers, governors of financial institutions, and national leaders. Caribbean societies were influenced by corrupt practices and governing methods passed down from the corresponding colonial powers to varying degrees (Stapenhurst et al., 2018). Other Caribbean colonies ruled by the English, Dutch, and French also struggled with corruption, which was a major problem. Indeed, during a large portion of the Caribbean’s colonial period, corruption served as the fuel that kept the government’s operations running smoothly, mirroring similar struggles in the metropolitan nations that dispatched authorities to their southern postings (Boejoekoe et al., 2021). Therefore, it is necessary to implement frameworks that foster accountability and transparency in government.
The requirement to update the region’s constitutional structures presents another problem. Numerous constitutions in the area are from the colonial period and no longer adequately represent the requirements and goals of the populace. That can be dated to the late 15th-century introduction of the encomienda system and attempts to forbid trade with other nations in the Caribbean. Both produced the need for clandestine connections that flouted laws and morality by engaging in illegal activities, paying bribes, and elevating close relatives and political friends to important government posts. Therefore, it is necessary to modernize and update these arrangements.
In addition, the issue of gender inequality in the area needs to be addressed. Equal participation from men and women is necessary to create a tenacious and strong Caribbean. In recent times, the Caribbean has made huge strides toward gender equality, especially with regard to women’s access to education, political positions, and employment. However, more needs to be done to advance the cause of equal opportunity. Despite recent substantial headway, women still face disadvantages in many aspects of life. This aspect of gender inequality also refers to their involvement in politics. Hence, electoral reforms for gender inequality need to be done to guarantee that women have an equal say and representation in the area’s constitutional framework.
Critical Analysis of the Proposed Electoral Reform: Advantages and Disadvantages
The reforms suggested by establishing new frameworks for holding public officials accountable can improve accountability and effective governance in the current administration. For instance, the creation of impartial commissions to look into accusations of corruption (Stapenhurst et al., 2018). The ICAC seeks to safeguard the public’s interests, stop betrayals of the public’s confidence, and regulate the behavior of public servants. The ICAC deals with the fraudulent activity that affects the majority of the public sector, such as state and local governments, lawmakers, and the judicial system (Boejoekoe et al., 2021). By implementing new policies that are more attentive to the populace’s needs, the proposed policy changes can also improve government transparency and better governance.
Introducing new human rights safeguards is another example. The policy changes proposed can improve governmental accountability and good governance by enacting policies that support gender equality. Consider the implementation of quotas for female representation in parliament. Women typically do not hold more than 30% of elected positions in the region, except for Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana, where a quota of one-third of political party nominees must be women (UN Women, 2018). Addressing the environmental and financial shortcomings of heavily indebted small island developing nations may appear to outweigh the importance of addressing women’s underrepresentation in political leadership. Countries struggling with declining foreign currency reserves and the effects of natural disasters that are becoming more intense rarely give gender equality and the value of women’s governance a top priority. However, this can be constricting and short-sighted when attempting to meet national development goals. However, these gender quotas mandate that women must make up a specific percentage of the membership of any group, including candidate lists, parliamentary assemblies, and governments.
Advantages and disadvantages of the electoral reform
The English-speaking Caribbean’s constitutional reform has several benefits and drawbacks. Constitutional change has the potential to improve government accountability and transparency. This aspect is so that new accountability strategies for government leaders can be introduced as a result of reform. For instance, reform could result in the creation of independent commissions to look into claims of corruption. Provided the barriers and difficulties in enforcing the rule of law, this proposed reform acknowledges the inherent difficulties of any institutional strategy in pursuing policy changes. Transparency International’s recommended framework for a fruitful anti-corruption organization is discussed (Boejoekoe et al., 2021). As a result, this reform gives citizens access to information and transparency, which are the antidote to the ignorance that allows corruption to flourish.
In addition, the reforms include initiatives to pass new laws that improve public access to information and fight corruption. Democracy relies on informed citizens accessing a wide spectrum of data that empowers them to fully engage in public life, contribute to setting financial priorities, have equal rights to justice, and hold public representatives liable. Therefore, citizens are deprived of the right to understand government issues fully. Especially when quasi-governmental organizations and the government operate in privacy and secrecy and the media is only permitted to report on and feed on unconfirmed reports speculatively.
The ability to modernize the regional constitution is another benefit of constitutional reform. This endeavor is so that new frameworks better suited to the populace’s demands can be introduced as a result of reform. For instance, reform may result in the introduction of new safeguards for human rights. Another example of an outdated system is the Westminster framework which has problems because it lacks governance and oversight, and has a colonial mentality. As a result, there is a problem involving serious government corruption, exacerbating poverty, increases in crime, debt, and fewer prospects for trading activities. As a result, citizens’ lives are made more difficult, and democracies are in danger of falling apart because no country is prepared to face these existential problems (Stapenhurst et al., 2018). The goal of regional and national independence was to preserve the colonial established order while creating the appearance of liberation and personal freedom. Therefore, this constitutional change may result in the advent of new systems more receptive to public needs.
The ability to confront the problem of gender inequality is the third benefit of constitutional change. This premise is because reform may introduce policies that support gender equality. Amendment, for instance, might result in the incorporation of quotas for female representation in parliament (UN Women, 2018). Women’s quotas do not segregate but rather remove obstacles for them to enter politics. Women can form committees or assemblies thanks to quotas, which reduce the stress felt by token women. Generally speaking, these quotas are an equal opportunity and positive action measure (UN Women, 2018). These measures are intended to tackle the slow rate of change in the involvement of women and minority collectives in societal sectors where they have traditionally been underrepresented, like the workforce, education, and political institutions.
Additionally, there are a few drawbacks to constitutional reform. The complexity and length of constitutions have grown along with the expectations imposed on them, making them harder to draft and implement. With entrenched interests and geographic divisions at risk, constitutional change procedures frequently have high stakes. One of them is that reform can be a drawn-out and difficult process (Phillip-Durham, 2020). This aspect is because it frequently necessitates the consent of numerous parties, such as elected figures, civil society organizations, and the public. As a result, an amendment can be difficult to accomplish.
The potential cost of constitutional change is another drawback. This cost is because it frequently necessitates the hiring of numerous experts, such as legal professionals, constitutional experts, and public opinion experts. Besides, given that they necessitate more campaigning and other expenses than statutory provisions, constitutional amendments are more expensive. In most cases, particularly at the national level, a lobby group can accomplish its desired political goals through statutory implementation at a lower cost than a constitutional amendment (Phillip-Durham, 2020). Congress can pass a federal statute with the support of just a majority in each house.
Conclusion
Finally, constitutional issues or adjustments to the territorial distribution of power do not result in modifications to how constitutional reform processes are structured. The tension between structure and process is most pronounced in newly regionalized or federalized systems, which accelerate centrifugal pressures, particularly in constitutional conflicts involving groups. Therefore, electoral reform may be debatable because it frequently results in adjustments to how power is distributed among various groups. For instance, reform may result in new policies that favor one group over another.
References
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Phillip-Durham, G. (2020). Ideas and impact: Continuity, change and constraints in the institutional landscape of Curaçao, Sint Maarten, and Trinidad and Tobago. Island Studies Journal, 15(1), 113–130. Web.
Stapenhurst, F., Staddon, A., Draman, R., & Imbeau, L. (2018). Parliamentary oversight and corruption in the Caribbean: Comparing Trinidad & Tobago and Grenada. Commonwealth & Comparative Politics, 56(4), 493–522. Web.
UN Women. (2018). Women in political leadership in the Caribbean. Parlamericas. Web.