Cogito, ergo sum. I think, therefore I am. (René Descartes, mathematician and philosopher,1599-1650)

Monday 25 June 2012

Qarase Emergent: From Pupa to Butterfly

Pupa to butterfly
Watching the slow metamorphosis of former PM Laisenia Qarase from pupa to butterfly may well soon be a spectator sport► Click to read. 


After lying dormant for a year or two, he's slowly emerged to express some concerns about the legality and composition of the Constitution Commission, but for the most part he has left former colleagues Chaudhry and then Beddoes to speak on his behalf. All of them, unsurprisingly, say there is no need for a new constitution. 

But now, following an SDL meeting in Lautoka on Friday, Qarase has acknowledged that "some amendments to the Constitution is (sic!) necessary for example the electoral system needs to be reviewed, as public opinion moves towards the principle of one man, one vote and one value". He then went on to say: “Other aspects of the Constitution need to be reviewed as well [but] there is no need to formulate an entirely new Constitution for Fiji."

Leaving aside the semantics —at what point does an amended constitution become a new constitution?— and Qarase's smart  use of review versus formulate an entirely new constitution, surely, after all this time, we could rightly expect something more specific.

For example, on the electoral issue, what does he think about proportional representation, the size of electorates and the number of electoral candidates?  Does he think the new amended electoral provisions should be embedded in the constitution, as they were in the 1997 constitution, or should they be open to amendment by parliament?   

What has he or his party to say about the powers of the  President, Senate and the Great Council of Chiefs (GCC) that were, with parliament, integral parts of the legislature under the 1997 Constitution? 


We need to be told what  he would retain or amend in these important constitutional provisions. 

Should the President (and Vice-President), for example, be appointed by the GCC on the recommendation of the PM, as in the 1997 Constitution, or should he or she be elected by the nation, or by parliament, or by some sort of electoral commission? What should be the role and  extent of presidential powers?  Should Senate be resurrected, reformed, replaced or abolished? What should be the role of the the GCC? 

In short, precisely what "other aspects of the Constitution need to be reviewed"?  Just the headings would do.

I know it's too early for Qarase and the SDL to inform the public in any detailed way on what they want to see in an amended or new constitution, but they have surely had long enough to flag the main issues they think need attention. The issues they don't flag will then tell us what they wish to leave unchanged. 


Or perhaps they have flagged them already by not mentioning them, and the only thing they are prepared to see changed is the one man one vote issue?

One way or the other, Qarase and the SDL (and, indeed, the FLP and UPP) need to come clean with the public. Sniping at  the Bainimarama Government is not enough.  Government has already signalled most of its wishes in the People's Charter and Roadmap —processes, it should be noted,  that they chose to ignore. Qarase needs to spell out  the main issues, and what he wishes to retain and amend in the Constitution that takes Fiji to the polls in 2014.  He should spell these out before Prof Yash Ghai, the Chairman of the Commission, arrives in about two week's time. In that way, he'll get better feedback from the public.

It would be presumptuous of me to direct their thoughts but  some ideas on the issues that may need attention can be found in the new blog  Fiji Political and Constitutional Forum that lists 30 separate topics on which all are invited to comment. 


If enough people comment, it is sure to assist the  dialogue process but even without comments, reading the list of topics will help an understanding of the many issues that have to be decided by Fijian citizens within the next twenty-four or so months. 

4 comments:

Delusion of Grandeur said...

Bula Croz, congratulations on this updated website format! It is so much better and well done! makes ease of use and the ability to catch what is happening at a quick glance, together with how many comments. The only comment to make regarding this topic, Mr Qarase ought to focus on growing old gracefully and find an avenue to download his wealth of experience to those that will follow. Vinaka and keep up the good work.

Anonymous said...

Croz, You make it sound like he was hiding and lying dormant by choice. This is the former prime minister who was removed and largely confined to his Island for most of the time post coup. He had to become silent or be arrested - simple as that.

Charlie Charters said...

There is more than a touch of Alice in Wonderland to this whole process, especially Croz as you pointed out (or made the assumption) only three days ago that senior figures within the military are talking as if they are clearly reserving the right to stand over and approve both the constitution, the election and the formation of the subsequent government. Yet even the slightest hint of a question about what is the appropriate role of the army henceforth is shot down as jeopardising stablitity, inflaming a delicate situation, not understanding the reality on the ground etc.

By the way, why do you refer to Chaudhry as Qarase's 'former colleague'? Surely - to complete the Alice in Wonderland analogy - Chaudhry's most immediate former colleague was the current prime minister. Or as the Duchess said: And the moral of that is: Be what you would seem to be, or if you'd like it put more simply: Never imagine yourself not to be otherwise than what it might appear to others that what you were or might have been was not otherwise than what you had been would have appeared to them to be otherwise.

Anonymous said...

Oh but Croz when it comes to regime oppoents you are all about 'semantics' and when it comes to hard and honest analysis of the military regime and their cronies, you are all over their comments with a steady flow of encouragement, naivety and complicity.