Reasons

The government is using $4,000,000 ECD of YOUR money to try and convince you to vote yes. That’s YOUR money that could have been spent on hospitals, schools and recreational facilities for our young people. The people need to stand up and be heard. NO more powers to the government. NO more powers to Gonsalves. NO more wasted money. Enough is enough. VOTE NO FOR THE SAKE OF YOUR COUNTRY. FOR THE SAKE OF DEMOCRACY. FOR A BETTER FUTURE.

YOUR COUNTRY NEEDS YOU LIKE NEVER BEFORE. ON THE 25TH NOVEMBER, VINCENTIANS FACE A CHOICE: A YES vote in the referendum will give Prime Minister Gonsalves even more powers with even less accountability. A NO vote in the referendum will protect this country from the current government’s reckless campaign of corruption and wastage.

NO!

I VOTING

NO! 25th NOVEMBER 2009

20 reasons why

I VOTING NO!

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1

The NDP supports meaningful Constitutional Reform; the proposed constitution does not provide it.

2

The President should be elected by the people in national elections not hand picked by the Prime Minister or Parliament.

3

Vincentians MUST be given not less than CURRENT market value for their land if government wants to take it away.

4

The Parliament should remain at 21 (plus the Speaker) and not be increased to 27. IT IS A WASTE OF MONEY. IT DOES NOT DEEPEN DEMOCRACY.

5

Parliamentarians must not be allowed to slander people while in Parliament and get away with it.

6

The responsibility to recall members of parliament should be that of the electorate and not political parties.

Under the Proposed Constitution NO COURT can enquire into the decisions made by the Electoral and Boundaries Commission. IT IS A LAW UNTO ITSELF.

15

By leaving all power to appoint senior public servants in the hands of the Prime Minister ALONE and by putting the conduct of those persons outside the scrutiny of the parliament the next step could be DICTATORSHIP.

16

St. Vincent has strong laws against buggery and gross indecency by persons of the same sex. Same Sex marriages cannot happen here. Changing the constitution will not make gay marriage illegal…it is already unlawful.

The name “Minority Leader” should not be accepted. Stay with “Leader of the Opposition.” There is NOTHING in the new constitution that effectively reduces the POWER of the Prime Minister.

10

Representatives should report to their constituents and not to the Speaker.

11

Protection from Political Victimisation should be given more prominence under the new constitution.

17

The power of the Prime Minister to order an investigation with a view to removing the DPP prejudices the ability of the DPP to function independently. With an elected President this power will not exist.

The constitution is not a young people’s charter. Young people can already own land and get married at age 18. That has been our age of majority for the last TWO DECADES.

18

We do not agree with making the entrenched provisions of the constitution easier to change. Moving the percentage of votes from 66 % to 60% and giving less time for the public to understand the changes is NOT DEEPENING DEMOCRACY.

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The constitution does not have to be changed for us to have an Ombudsman or Teaching Service Commission, Human Rights Commission or Integrity Commission. Ordinary legislation can effectively deal with those institutions. The Parliamentary Commission is unnecessary. It does not reduce Prime Ministerial power.

19

Local Government representatives MUST BE elected and its funding MUST BE GUARANTEED.

20

The Proposed Constitution does not encourage the promotion of public servants on the basis of MERIT.