Opposition refuses to sign Declaration of Qualification

The elected members of the Opposition have declined to join with the elected members of Government in making a Declaration of Qualification before the House of Assembly, saying that to do so now would compound the problem of not having made the declaration earlier.

During a sitting of Parliament yesterday, pursuant to the layout of the Order Paper, there was included a section for the Declaration of Qualification before the House.

According to Section 62 of the Representation of the People’s Act, 1982, “every person elected as a member of the House of Assembly shall, before sitting or voting therein, make the declaration of qualification in Form A.”

This declaration had not been made by elected members at the beginning of the current session of Parliament in December 2015, and this omission was pointed out by the Leader of Government Dr Ralph Gonsalves, at the last sitting of the House on May 3, 2018.

Therefore, yesterday the elected members of the House on the Government side rose one by one, to make the declaration, which takes the form, “(name of elected member) do solemnly declare that I am truly and bona fide qualified to be elected a member of the House of Assembly of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines according to the true intent and meaning of the Representation of the People Act, and the rules and regulations made thereunder.”

When it came time for the elected members on the Opposition side to make the declaration, the Leader of the Opposition Dr Godwin Friday indicated that he had an objection.He stated that, as it relates to the Act and the declaration, “the requirement of the law is that it be done before sitting and voting in the House.”

He noted that the Prime Minister had stated that during his time in the House, a declaration had never been made, following this law, and acknowledged that this was an oversight.He noted further that, “With no great violence to the tradition and the lawmaking powers of the House, I have no doubt Mr Speaker that I am qualified to sit as a member.

We had to do that declaration when we put ourselves up as candidates, and the members on this side of the House.”He said he wished to avoid compounding the problem of having disregarded the legislation, by now saying “that we have a discretion to reinterpret it in a way that means that whenever, not that “it shall be before voting and sitting in the House,” but whenever we remember, we should make the oath of declaration.

To me that compounds the problem.”Therefore he stated that in order to remain complaint with the law, a declaration should be made after the next elections, when a new Parliament sits.He reiterated, “Right now to me, reading Section 62 as if it’s discretionary, that we can do it anytime, compounds the problem. It does not solve the problem. It doesn’t make us comply, because the law in itself, all that was done here by the members on the other side, to me, is moot, because it does not comply with the law.”

“The declaration of qualification is what the members on the other side have read, and its compliance, but the timing is completely at variance with what the legislation says,” Friday stated, while indicating that they (lawmakers) should not “interpret the legislation as it’s convenient for us.”Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves rose to voice his ‘profound disagreement’ with Friday on the legal interpretation.

He did not think it to be ‘compounding’ the problem.He indicated that the actions of the Opposition Leader would be an omission, “We would be compounding the problem if it having been drawn to the attention of the House, we neglect to do something about it. That is where the problem would be compounded.”

He continued, “Mr Speaker I’ve looked at the law, but it is something as lawmakers, if the law says we should do it, we should do it. It ought to have been done before, it wasn’t done before, that doesn’t mean that you can’t do it now.”

However, beyond this, the Act makes no further mention on non-compliance, the Prime Minister noting, “the Representation of the People’s Act, as I’ve read it, does not say that if you don’t do it, that it invalidates the proceedings in the House.

It doesn’t say that it makes anyone who is elected, not elected, it doesn’t say that.

All it says, that we must do it. It doesn’t impose a criminal penalty.”Therefore, the status quo remains that the Opposition elected members have not signed the declaration, having objected to doing so at this time, and that elected members on the Government side have signed the declaration, believing this to be the correct thing to do.