The Tobago House of Assembly is moving forward in achieving what they are terming a Tobago Referendum.
Bringing a motion to the Assembly on Friday, Assembly Member Trevor James stressed it is time for Tobago to gain true autonomy.
He noted that two representatives in the House of Representatives is insufficient representation for Tobago. As such, he said the Tobago Referendum will be achieved through a three-track process. This includes political mandate, statutory authority, and constitutional interface.
“That, one, affirms that the people of Tobago are the political principles and, two, direct the Executive Council of the THA to formally request enabling legislation for a Tobago-specific referendum. This will establish democratic legitimacy before any legal steps. Two, we will request enabling legislation, and we want to propose the name the Tobago Consultative Referendum Act, where the THA will formally petition the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago through Cabinet to enact ordinary legislation, maybe through the amendment of the THA Act.”
Mr. James noted that currently Tobago has no legal consultative democratic process to ensure the voice of Tobago is being adhered to. Hence, the motion is critical.
“As the motion is contemplating, the Secretary of Legal Affairs shall convene a drafting committee comprising representatives of the Tobago House of Assembly, constitutional international law experts, civil society, faith groups, business, and youth representatives. This mandate would be to draft the Consultative Referendum Bill to ensure that it is consistent with the Constitution, that it is consistent with international self-determination laws, that it is consistent with CARICOM, and CARICOM democratic practices.”
The Parliament will be asked to enact the referendum framework.
“This will allow the THA to trigger the referendum. It will require the Elections and Boundaries Commission to administer it, and it will mandate the results to be formally transmitted to the Cabinet, to Parliament, and to the President.”
Mr. James said this should lead to the amendment of the Constitution Amendment Bills or a Tobago Autonomy Federal-Style Governance Bill. He said the aim is for this to be more than just a symbolic act but to ensure structure in achieving the referendum.