Page 20 - IB April 24

Opinion

WHAT’S WRONG WITH VANUATU’S “Sight is a very important

PROPOSED PARTY LAWS? thing. If I was not able to go
back to work, the future
would be blurred.
By Jon Fraenkel Should Independents be Forbidden? - James, Solomon Islands
The second amendment (17B) to be put to the public
Vanuatu is holding its first ever referendum on 29th May on prohibits MPs from contesting as independents, but this
two constitutional amendments designed to lessen instability provision has triggered considerable controversy. Within
on the floor of parliament. three months of the first sitting day after a general election,
The first amendment (17A) intends to tie members of independents would be required to submit to the Clerk a
parliament (MPs) to their political parties. The second declaration of party affiliation.
(17B) aims at prohibiting MPs from sitting in parliament as But there are gaping loopholes in this law. Nothing prevents
independents unaffiliated to any political party. unaffiliated independents from quickly registering as political
In addition, a Political Parties Registration Act passed in parties prior to the three-month deadline. The amendment
December empowers the Principal Elections Officer to register tries, but fails, to deal adequately with the likelihood of
and de-register parties, to vet the ‘policy platform’ of any one-person parties, which were such a prominent feature of
proposed party to assess whether it has a ‘national scope’ the Papua New Guinea reaction to the similarly intentioned
and to de-register parties who fail to reach an unspecified 2001 Organic Law on the Integrity of Political Parties and
minimum threshold of support. Candidates (OLIPPAC). Unscrupulous politicians will run rings
The Vanuatu Constitution requires a two-thirds around these proposed laws.
parliamentary majority followed by a simple majority in Both laws presuppose what they set out to achieve. The
a referendum for any amendments that concern national intention is to strengthen political parties, but these laws can
languages, the electoral or the parliamentary system (S. 85- only work as intended if political parties are already strong.
86). Since important provisions in that Act affect the working Both laws require absolute clarity in party constitutions about
of the parliamentary system, but these are not all being put the grounds on which ‘a member is deemed to have ceased
to the vote, these are likely to be ruled unconstitutional, as to be affiliated with the political party’. In practice, party 1 in 10 adults have diabetes, a condition that,
has been the case in the past. Presidents and Speakers are bound to manipulate those rules without early detection and treatment, can lead to
Within Vanuatu, the referendum debate is regularly in their own favour. Like the Political Party Integrity Law (PPIA
being depicted as if it were one between those in favour of 2014) in Solomon Islands and OLIPPAC in PNG, these laws serious complications like diabetes eye disease.
instability and those who are against it, or between those depend on creating or strengthening what inevitably becomes
who want economic development and those who are against a highly politicized constitutional office and then expecting
it. That is deeply misleading. Political stability and economic this to act in a non-partisan way. Diabetes eye disease often lacks Before James could get cataract
development are obviously desirable objectives, but the big The experience in PNG and the Solomon Islands was that symptoms in its early stages, so surgery, he had to get his blood
question is whether these proposed laws will achieve what is these laws did not work as intended. No MP lost their seat in many with diabetes aren't aware sugar levels to a manageable
being promised? either country for violating the rules. Key parts of the PNG that their condition, if left level. After being hospitalised for
law were ruled unconstitutional in 2010. unmanaged, could affect their a month, James was finally able to
Will MPs be tied to their parties? In the Solomon Islands, the government of Gordon Darcy vision and potentially lead to undergo cataract surgery and
The first constitutional amendment (17A) seeks to put a Lilo did not have a majority for the necessary constitutional blindness. This is why it is so have his sight restored. James
halt to ‘yo-yo’ or ‘grasshopper’ politicians that jump to and amendments in 2014. Paradoxically, the impact of the important to attend regular eye could now go back to work and
fro between political parties. MPs are required to ‘support’ Solomons law was to encourage many sitting MPs to contest
their parties for the duration of a parliamentary term. Those as independents. In 2014, the Political Parties Commission screenings, so that any issues can back to supporting his family.
who do not do so can be expelled, but to expel an MP the told the wrong faction that it had the right to form the be detected and treated as early as
President of a party ‘must notify the Speaker in writing within government. At the next election in 2019, the law created possible. Visit your local eye clinic for
14 days’ that this expulsion or resignation has taken place ‘in great uncertainties about who had the legal and moral regular checkups so you can
accordance with that political party’s constitution’. right to form a government that spilled over into riots that James in Solomon Islands has continue to care for your family
This provision therefore gives considerable powers both broke out on the streets of Honiara. If these constitutional experienced first-hand the impact and do all the things you love.
to party presidents, who are not required to be MPs, and to amendments gain support in May and if they are subsequently diabetes can have. James was
Speakers of Parliament, who are political appointees normally enforced, Vanuatu can expect lots of future court cases about diagnosed with diabetes in 2020
selected at the first sitting of parliament after a general the expulsion of MPs from their parties or the de-registration and not long after, developed
election (1980 Constitution S. 22). Speakers are then required of purportedly non-qualifying parties. diabetes-induced cataracts which
to declare the seats of MPs who have been expelled by their
parties vacant within seven days. These provisions are easily Jon Fraenkel is a Professor of Comparative Politics at Victoria caused him to lose his sight. For The Fred Hollows Foundation
open to abuse. Speakers of Parliament may use these new University of Wellington. He has written extensively on party nine months, James was completely NZ works to end avoidable
powers to their own advantage. Why should the Presidents strengthening reforms in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon blind. He couldn't go to his job at blindness and vision
of political parties be expected to behave any better than Islands. the university and wasn't able to impairment in the Pacific.
elected MPs? care for his two young children.

20 Islands Business, April 2024