Hon. Musa’s amendment to ROPA would allow diaspora Belizeans to register and vote in the ICJ referendum
BELMOPAN, Thurs. Dec. 13, 2018– One Opposition, People’s United Party member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Kareem Musa, area representative for the Caribbean Shores constituency, has embarked on a solitary mission to enable Belizeans living in the diaspora to vote in next April’s national referendum which will determine if Belize should submit Guatemala’s territorial claim for adjudication at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
Hon. Musa has decided to utilize a little known parliamentary procedure known as a Private Member’s Bill to seek an amendment to the Representation of the People Act, (ROPA) Chapter 9 of the Substantive Laws of Belize, Revised Edition 2011.
Unlike an ordinary bill that is proposed by the government side, which commands a majority of seats in the parliament, a Private Member’s Bill can only be introduced at an ordinary sitting of the House of Representatives.
The House of Representatives meeting yesterday, Wednesday, was a special session; Hon. Musa therefore could not introduce his ROPA amendment which he delivered to the Clerk of the National Assembly this week.
On the adjournment of the House, when Opposition parliamentarians can address national issues, Hon. Musa updated the House on the progress of his proposed amendment to the ROPA.
“I just wanted to give an update, Madam Speaker, that it will be presented at the next ordinary sitting of the House as directed by Your Ladyship. In addition to that, Madam Speaker, a bit of good news on that point; I had the opportunity to consult with the Prime Minister in chambers at the back … I think that the Prime Minister genuinely recognizes the importance of not having Belizeans, no matter where in the world they live, feeling disenfranchised; [they] should not feel deprived of the right to have a voice in this very important ICJ referendum that is coming up in April,” stated Musa.
Musa further explained, “So, I gave an undertaking to the Prime Minister, because I think we are at the point where it is important to look at all the nuts and bolts, so to speak, [about] the mechanisms that would have to go in to this piece of legislation to ensure that it would work.”
“So, we had that discussion and I gave the undertaking to the Prime Minister and to this Honorable House that I will follow up and to provide those nuts and bolts in the form of a schedule, Mr. Prime Minister,” Hon. Musa told the House.
In his reply, Hon. Dean Barrow, Prime Minister and Queen’s Square area representative, said, “There is no difficulty, as I understand, members on this side of the House, with allowing Belizeans who have some kind of family address in this country to register, so that they might be able to vote in the referendum. Now, the question as to whether such a thing finds favor with the majority of Belizeans living at home is another one. I suspect that if we were to have any chance of knowing, of gauging that sort of sentiment, we’d have to have a second referendum on that. But for ourselves, we have no difficulty with the question of registration. The commonplace phrase that the devil is in the details is very much going to be an issue in these circumstances. So, all I am trying to do is to say that sympathy for a principle is not the same as suggesting that there is any commitment to the end product.”
For Hon. Musa’s bill to pass into law, it needs bipartisan support, and in Belize’s parliamentary history, the Opposition has never been able to steer a bill through the House of Representatives before, Private Member’s Bill or otherwise.