With the opening of the Eleventh Parliament last Wednesday, the most significant development was the consolidation of the governance model of having defeated candidates as parliamentarians on a bi-partisan basis.
Last week, I highlighted the fact that the Eric Williams doctrine of not appointing defeated candidates to the Senate had now been discarded by the PNM. At the time of writing then, the PNM had only appointed two senators from among their list of defeated candidates, while the Opposition People’s Partnership had not yet named their six senators and neither had the President named his nine independent senators.
When the remainder of the senators to be recommended by the Prime Minister was named, there was another defeated PNM candidate, Sara Alisa Budhu (defeated in Caroni East), among them.
The People’s Partnership opposition senators also included defeated candidates in the persons of Vasant Bharath (UNC—defeated in St Joseph) and Rodger Samuel (COP—defeated in Arima).
All sides of the political divide in T&T with membership in the House of Representatives have now completely adopted the governance model, first advanced by Basdeo Panday, of proposing the appointment of defeated candidates as parliamentarians with the PNM and the COP now joining the fray.
President Carmona, like presidents Richards, Hassanali and Clarke, but unlike President Robinson, had no public objection to these latest appointments. He had the opportunity to speak about this in his address to the Parliament when he spoke about the need for constitutional reform, but did not do so.
In order to have the complete picture of the road the country has travelled along this path over the last 39 years of republicanism, the following data on defeated candidates who were appointed to the Senate by the president on the advice of the prime minister or the leader of the opposition in 1976, 1992, 1995, 2000, 2002, 2007 and 2015 following general elections in September 1976, December 1991, November 1995, December 2000, October 2002, November 2007 and September 2015 will be useful:
1976 Senate
On the advice of the Leader of the Opposition (Basdeo Panday)—Senator Allan Alexander (ULF—defeated in Point Fortin)
1992 Senate
On the advice of the Leader of the Opposition (Basdeo Panday)—Senator Wade Mark (UNC—defeated in Barataria-San Juan)
1995 Senate
On the advice of the Prime Minister (Basdeo Panday)—Senator Barbara Burke (UNC—defeated in Laventille West)
2001 Senate
On the advice of the Prime Minister (Basdeo Panday)—
1. Senator Dr Roodal Moonilal (UNC—defeated in San Fernando East)
2. Senator Dr Daphne Phillips (UNC—defeated in Diego Martin West)
3. Senator Dr Jennifer Kernahan (UNC—defeated in Diego Martin Central)
4. Senator Dr Vincent Lasse (UNC—defeated in Point Fortin)
5. Senator Roy Augustus (UNC—defeated in Arouca North)
6. Senator Stanley Ryan (UNC—defeated in La Brea)
7. Senator Michael Als (UNC—defeated in Toco/Manzanilla)
2002 Senate
On the advice of the Leader of the Opposition (Basdeo Panday)—
1. Senator Sadiq Baksh (UNC—defeated in San Fernando West)
2. Senator Dr Jennifer Kernahan (UNC—defeated in Arima)
2007 Senate
On the advice of the Leader of the Opposition (Basdeo Panday)—
1. Senator Wade Mark (UNC—defeated in Pointe-a-Pierre)
2. Senator Dr Carson Charles (UNC—defeated in St Joseph)
3. Senator Dr Jennifer Kernahan (UNC—defeated in La Horquetta/Talparo)
2015 Senate
On the advice of the Prime Minister (Dr Keith Rowley)—
1. Senator Clarence Rambharat (PNM—defeated in Mayaro)
2. Senator Avinash Singh (PNM—defeated in Caroni Central)
3. Senator Sara Budhu (PNM—defeated in Caroni East)
On the advice of the Leader of the Opposition (Mrs Kamla Persad-Bissessar)—
1. Senator Vasant Bharath (UNC—defeated in St Joseph)
2. Senator Rodger Samuel (COP—defeated in Arima)
In respect of the 2001 Senate, the seven senators listed were also assigned ministerial portfolios in the advice tendered to President Robinson by Prime Minister Panday on December 22, 2000. However, following the president’s initial refusal to make the appointments, the prime minister tendered substituted advice to the president on January 2, 2001, in which he indicated that he wished for all seven of them to be appointed senators only.
On February 14, 2001, the president appointed all of them as senators in accordance with the advice of the prime minister that had been tendered on January 2, 2001. He then made subsequent appointments to ministerial positions for four of them based on further advice tendered by the prime minister after their senatorial appointments were made.
Basdeo Panday also proposed defeated candidates to serve as speaker of the House of Representatives on two occasions as follows:
1995 House of Representatives
Mr Hector McClean—Speaker of the House (UNC—defeated in Tunapuna)
2001 House of Representatives
Dr Rupert Griffith—Speaker of the House (UNC—defeated in Arima)
After 39 years as a republic, defeated candidates as parliamentarians is now an entrenched feature of our political landscape.