Grenada is an island located in the southern Caribbean with a current population of approximately 115,000. The country’s main income areas are from the agricultural and tourism industry. In 1974, Grenada was given its Constitution by an Act of Parliament. However, as of November 24th, 2016, the voting population will be called upon to cast their votes on proposed changes to the Constitution in a national referendum.
Before delving into the whole issue of constitution reform, let us first define some terms. According to Dr. Wayne Sandiford in an open lecture on constitution reform, the constitution is defined as “The fundamental law that establishes the character of a government. It defines the basic principles to which a society must conform”. …show more content…
However, after partaking in the relevant research and town hall meetings on the aforementioned subject, I believe that the Constitution Reform endeavour is a strategic and beneficial initiative for the current and future population of Grenada. As mentioned earlier, the constitution is the fundamental law which states how a country is to be governed. In my view, for the citizens of a country to have a ‘say’ in what ‘makes up the constitution’ is a truly democratic action and must be fully embraced by the voting population.
As mentioned earlier, Grenada’s constitution was enacted in 1974. From 1974 to 2016 (42 years), the constitution has been untouched. In order to modernize Grenada’s constitution in accordance with other international bodies such as the United Nations (UN) which Grenada is a member of, there must be a call for a Constitution Reform. In order for Grenada to enjoy its membership and benefits from bodies such as the UN, a Constitution Reform must be arranged to sync Grenada’s constitution with the twenty-first …show more content…
Francis Alexis announced to the nation that Thursday, October 27th, 2016 would be the appointed date of the referendum when the registered electorate would be called upon to vote on the seven bills. The majority of the population including myself was still uneducated on the Constitution Reform and believed that the timeline was too short. In my opinion, the CRAC was not explaining the bills in layman terminology. I believe that the CRAC received similar feedback from the wider population, and as of writing, the new date for the Referendum is November 24th, 2016. Prior to this, I attended several town-halls and forums where members of the CRAC help open discussions on the Constitution Reform. These sessions were particularly useful to me as the CRAC began to explain and interpret the seven bills in layman terminology. This was a positive move by the CRAC as I am of the belief that the language used to interpret the bills which propose to amend the Grenada Constitution must be understood by the common man. Grenada is a democratic society and its citizens ought to have the right to fully understand their
Before delving into the whole issue of constitution reform, let us first define some terms. According to Dr. Wayne Sandiford in an open lecture on constitution reform, the constitution is defined as “The fundamental law that establishes the character of a government. It defines the basic principles to which a society must conform”. …show more content…
However, after partaking in the relevant research and town hall meetings on the aforementioned subject, I believe that the Constitution Reform endeavour is a strategic and beneficial initiative for the current and future population of Grenada. As mentioned earlier, the constitution is the fundamental law which states how a country is to be governed. In my view, for the citizens of a country to have a ‘say’ in what ‘makes up the constitution’ is a truly democratic action and must be fully embraced by the voting population.
As mentioned earlier, Grenada’s constitution was enacted in 1974. From 1974 to 2016 (42 years), the constitution has been untouched. In order to modernize Grenada’s constitution in accordance with other international bodies such as the United Nations (UN) which Grenada is a member of, there must be a call for a Constitution Reform. In order for Grenada to enjoy its membership and benefits from bodies such as the UN, a Constitution Reform must be arranged to sync Grenada’s constitution with the twenty-first …show more content…
Francis Alexis announced to the nation that Thursday, October 27th, 2016 would be the appointed date of the referendum when the registered electorate would be called upon to vote on the seven bills. The majority of the population including myself was still uneducated on the Constitution Reform and believed that the timeline was too short. In my opinion, the CRAC was not explaining the bills in layman terminology. I believe that the CRAC received similar feedback from the wider population, and as of writing, the new date for the Referendum is November 24th, 2016. Prior to this, I attended several town-halls and forums where members of the CRAC help open discussions on the Constitution Reform. These sessions were particularly useful to me as the CRAC began to explain and interpret the seven bills in layman terminology. This was a positive move by the CRAC as I am of the belief that the language used to interpret the bills which propose to amend the Grenada Constitution must be understood by the common man. Grenada is a democratic society and its citizens ought to have the right to fully understand their