Statement to the Nation on a General Election
by
The Honourable Lester B Bird MP
Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda
on
Wednesday, 18th June 2003

Fellow Citizens of Antigua and Barbuda

I know that many of you are concerned about the news last night that four persons, who represented the Antigua Labour Party in the House of Representatives, have resigned from the Party and declared themselves independent members.

It is worth mentioning that I called on His Excellency the Governor-General this morning who, up to the time of our meeting, had not received these much publicised letters that allegedly advise him of the decisions by the four to sit in the House as independents.

Nonetheless, I am sure that the letters will be sent to the Governor-General in the fullness of time.

I also know that there may be a sense of confusion about the governance of the country, particularly as several members of the opposition have publicly offered their views on this matter.

The opposition may believe that its role is to stir-up as much confusion as possible. I know that my job is to keep our country stable and peaceful so that all our citizens can conduct their lives in freedom and tranquillity.

My purpose in talking to you now is to describe the realities of the present situation, and explain how the country will conduct its business in a constitutional, democratic and peaceful manner.

But, first, let me say that I very much regret the decision by the four members of the House, Hilroy Humphreys, Bernard Percival, Longford Jeremy and Sherfield Bowen, to resign from the Labour Party.

I had always entertained the hope that, together, we could find a way of resolving any problems that they perceived they had. Indeed, in an effort to try to find solutions to such perceptions, I held a meeting last Saturday morning with Mr Longford Jeremy, and I sought meetings with Mr Bernard Percival.

Despite these efforts, it appears that these comrades considered it important to take the action that they have.

It is a curious action that, in a sense, is inexplicable because it will not resolve any of their perceived problems, or advance the interests of our country.

What is even more inexplicable is that none of the four members are, or would have been, candidates for any political party in the next election.

Mr Humphreys, Mr Percival and Mr Jeremy had indicated that they would not be standing as candidates, and the Labour Party has already elected other persons to stand in the constituencies they now represent. All three of these gentlemen were active in the internal Labour Party campaigns that led to the election of their successors.

In the case of Mr Bowen, the Labour Party branch of the constituency he now represents, elected someone else as their candidate.

These four gentlemen, therefore, will play no role in any future parliament as elected members.

What gain, therefore, have they derived from their action, and what benefit have they given the country? Would their interests not have been better served by reasonable and sensible discussion with their senior colleagues in the Party and me to resolve their problems?

I was certainly willing to meet them, and as I indicated earlier, I did meet Mr Jeremy last Saturday morning and had sought several meetings with Mr Percival. Indeed, I thought I had a productive discussion with Mr Jeremy and, therefore, I was very disappointed to learn of his participation in this action.

All of this aside, we do have some realities to deal with.

The first one is that while the Antigua Labour Party and I, as its elected leader, represent the single largest majority in the House of Representatives, no party or person now commands an overall majority.

I am aware that certain members of the opposition have been touting the notions that I now have to resign or His Excellency the Governor-General has to remove me from office and appoint an interim Prime Minister.

Neither of these notions is correct.

Section 60 (1) of the Constitution empowers the Prime Minister to advise the Governor General to dissolve the Parliament. The only limitation to the general power conferred on the Prime Minister is contained in subsection (5) of section 60. In order to trigger subsection (50 a resolution of no confidence against the Prime Minister must be passed. If that were to happen, the Prime Minister has the option of resigning or advising the Governor General to dissolve Parliament before the Governor General can act.

Section 69 (2) (a) or (b) of the Constitution applies only "whenever there is occasion for the appointment of a Prime Minister." In this case, there is no question that no occasion for an appointment of a Prime Minister has arisen. The Governor General, after the results of the last general elections, appointed the Prime Minister pursuant to the powers vested in him under section (69) (2) (a). Accordingly, there is a person appointed as Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda. No other persons can be appointed Prime Minister unless an occasion for the appointment of a Prime Minister arises.

The Constitution of Antigua and Barbuda contemplates only four circumstances in which a Prime Minister may be removed or vacated from office other than for reasons of disqualification. The circumstances are:

• If the Prime Minister loses his seat or his political party loses at the general elections after the dissolution of Parliament.
• A resolution of no confidence against the Government has been passed and the Prime Minister resigns, see section 60 (5) of the Constitution.
• A resolution of no confidence has been passed against the Prime Minister and the Prime Minister resigns, see section 73 (1)
• If a resolution of no confidence against the Prime Minister is passed and he does not resign or advise the Governor General to dissolve Parliament within seven (7) days, the Governor General may revoke the Prime Minister's appointment, see section 73 (1).
  

The provisions of section 73 (2) (a) of the Constitution can only apply after the dissolution of Parliament if a circumstance occurs which requires the appointment of a Prime Minister. Section 73 (2) (a) does not talk about the removal but the re-appointment of a person as Prime Minister or the appointment of another persons as Prime Minister. A person can only be re-appointed as Prime Minister after a general election. There is no other circumstance in which a person can be re-appointed as Prime Minister.

The same constitutional principle applies to the power of the Governor General to appoint another person as Prime Minister. After the dissolution of Parliament, another person can be appointed as Prime Minister only if the Prime Minister for whatever reason resigns or he loses his seat or his political party loses at the general election. There is no other occasion which can give rise to the appointment of another person as Prime Minister.

The fact that four members of the Prime Minister's party have declared their intention and will sit as independents in the House of Representative is not an occasion for the appointment of a Prime Minister even if the Prime Minister may have a minority Government. The Constitution still requires that there be a proper motion and resolution of no confidence in the House of Representatives, see section (79) (5) of the Constitution and compare the language used there with the language used in sections (60 (5) and 73 (1).

The Constitution does not empower the Governor General to remove a Prime Minister simply on the basis of numbers unless and until the Prime Minister resigns or the Prime Minister refuses to resign or advise the Governor General to dissolve Parliament after a resolution of no confidence has been passed, see section 73 (1) of the Constitution.

Having said this, let me also point to the second reality of our present situation.

It is obvious that even though the governing Labour Party is the single largest majority in the House, it does not now command the overall majority.

This means that the Government would not be able to pass any legislation in the House, however beneficial such legislation may be to the people of Antigua and Barbuda.

It is obvious that the opposition representatives and the independent members of the House would simply vote to block such legislation.

In the circumstances, the Government has to seek a new mandate from the people of Antigua and Barbuda with sufficient seats in the House to carry out a legislative programme.

It is my intention to seek such a mandate from the people at the earliest opportunity within the bounds of the Constitution and the laws of Antigua and Barbuda.

I believe that it is true to say that none of the opposition political parties would like a general election to be contested on the old electoral list. They would be fearful that the Antigua Labour Party, which won 12 of the 17 seats in the last election on the basis of that list, would do so again.

In any event, I committed my Government and the Antigua Labour Party to new voter registration and voter identification cards.

I intend to keep firmly to that commitment.

What is more, I have no doubt of a Labour Party victory whatever list is used.

Therefore, I will dissolve Parliament within the coming weeks and call fresh elections to be held immediately thereafter under the new voters' list.

I wish to assure you that all that I have said to you is constitutionally correct and is supported by the opinions of knowledgeable lawyers.

All parties are now on notice that a general election is imminent and we are all off the starting blocks. The race to a new government has begun,

In the meantime, the governance of our country has to continue for the benefit of all our people regardless of their political affiliation. Such governance will continue in a constitutional, democratic and peaceful manner.

From time to time, the ambitions of a few will always surface in any nation's path, sometimes with unfortunate consequences; but we must never let such ambitions halt our progress. We still have a country to protect, and valuable gains to preserve.

Let us face the days ahead determined to do so.

May God Bless us all.