St. Vincent and the Grenadines can join the CCJ without holding a referendum. Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves said on Sunday that this can be done by a vote in the parliament using the same provision in the constitution as St. Lucia did.
“We can go because there’s a provision in the constitution in Saint Lucia, which is identical to ours, where the parliament can go with a two-thirds majority and move to the CCJ”.
“It didn’t look like it on the face of it, but if you read it, you’ll see that. The lack of clarity suggested an interpretation that you can do it, and that was subjected to a reference in the Court of Appeal, and we joined in that reference in Saint Lucia as a friend of the court, and there’s a judgment of the Court of Appeal in providing the interpretation of that provision, and the Court of Appeal said yes, You can go by the two thirds in the parliament”.
Gonsalves said the catch here in St. Vincent and the Grenadines is whether you would be able to do that from a political standpoint.
“Remember, we had a referendum, and that was a question, and the people said no, but both the government and the opposition can do that. I have not spoken to the opposition on that issue because, based on their utterances, I think the answer will be no. “If the answer is not no, they can tell me tomorrow morning that if the answer is not no, they will join us in going with two thirds in the House because I don’t have two thirds at the moment”.
Gonsalves said when he went with the bill to change the oath from swearing allegiance to the monarch to the people of St. Vincent and the Grenadines in parliament, the opposition was meandering.
“There were people on the opposition side who said you should hold the bill; we don’t know the constitutional implications of this thing. They may well have a change of mind, but I don’t want to waste my time”, Gonsalves said.
Gonsalves was speaking on the Issue at Hand Programme on Sunday when he spoke to the matter.
