Thoughts On A Recall System For Bahamian Ministers Of Parliament

Thoughts On A Recall System For Bahamian Ministers Of Parliament

This sounds like a good thing on the surface but it could cause many complications.

You could have people trying to thwart the will of the people over and over again by trying recall after recall. Excessive recall attempts could be used to gum up the works and make the proper operation of government difficult.

I propose one simple thought that could eliminate a lot of these problems in one go.

If the MP is a backbencher, the only people able to initiate a recall are their constituents. If a large enough percentage of their constituents put their signature to a recall effort, a recall election is held in their constituency. The only people allowed to run in this recall election are people who are members of the same party as the MP being recalled and who were members of that party as of the last General Election and who are approved to run by the members of that party in that constituency. This will eliminate any effort to change the balance of power via a recall effort.

If the MP is a cabinet member, if a large enough percentage of registered voters in the country put their signature to a removal effort, a demotion / recall election is held in their constituency. The only people allowed to run in this demotion / recall election are people who are members of the same party as the MP being recalled and who were members of that party as of the last General Election and who are approved to run by the members of that party in that constituency. The result of this may be that the MP is not demoted or recalled, or the MP may be demoted but not recalled in which case the MP becomes a backbencher for the duration, or the MP may be recalled in which the new MP becomes a backbencher or cabinet member at the decision of the Prime Minister. This will eliminate any effort to change the balance of power via a recall effort. However, as this MP cabinet member was having a National Impact, the nation as a whole gets a say in forcing the demotion / recall election but no say in what the constituents decide for their representative.

In a nutshell, the recall / demotion elections will allow for the people to deal with a non-performing MP while not changing the balance of power in the House.