By LAMECH JOHNSON

Tribune Staff Reporter

ljohnson@tribunemedia.net

FORT Charlotte MP Dr Andre Rollins yesterday said that the proposed gender equality referendum will become “a victim of the extreme unpopularity” of the Christie administration, adding that he fully expects it to fail.

Stating that he has always held the view that women’s rights are human rights and that women ought to be treated as equal to men under the law, Dr Rollins said the push for gender equality was being used as a political tool by the PLP because of the looming general election.

He suggested that the government delay the vote until after the 2017 election, with a promise from all political parties that the referendum would be held within 90 days of the next election.

“It is evident that our country is now entering election mode and this gender equality referendum will be a victim of the extreme unpopularity of this PLP government,” Dr Rollins, shadow minister of national security, said in a statement.

“This exercise will be viewed by the electorate not as a referendum on gender equality, but as a referendum on the abysmal performance of this Christie-led administration. I fully expect that Bahamians, almost en masse, will vote no to these bills, not because they are opposed to Bahamian women, but because they are vehemently opposed to this Christie-led administration.

“This referendum in my view is being used by this administration as a pretext for promoting gender equality, while in actuality they are really intending to use it as a nationwide political trial balloon to determine the mood of the electorate, and to use the referendum results to determine how to best alter the constituency boundaries to try to secure their re-election on or before 2017.

“The gaming referendum is evidence that this administration has no difficulty using a referendum as a means of providing political cover to mask their ulterior motives.”

Dr Rollins also said the matter was already being politicised, claiming the PLP has asked party supporters to assemble in Rawson Square on Wednesday, ahead of the House of Assembly’s vote on the Constitutional Amendment Bills.

“Sadly, those who view this exercise through altruistic lenses will not want to believe that such political trickery could be afoot, nor do I expect that it will bring them much comfort postponing this referendum any longer,” Dr Rollins added.

“However, the question that we must all ask is this: If it took 14 years to bring a failed ‘election eve referendum’ back to the Bahamian people for their consideration, then if it fails once again on the eve of the next general election, how much longer will it take before a future government musters the will and courage to try once again?”

The gender equality referendum has been postponed four times since 2013.

The four Constitutional Amendment Bills were tabled in the House of Assembly in 2014 and have been languishing in the committee stage since then.

The first bill would enable a child born outside the Bahamas to a Bahamian woman and a non-Bahamian father to have automatic Bahamian citizenship at birth. However, the government does not plan to have the clause operate retroactively.

The second bill would allow a Bahamian woman who marries a foreign man to secure for him the same access to Bahamian citizenship that a Bahamian man has always enjoyed under the Constitution in relation to his foreign wife.

The third bill seeks to remedy the one area of the Bahamas’ Constitution that discriminates against men based on gender.

The bill would give an unwed Bahamian father the same right to pass citizenship to his child that a Bahamian woman has always had under the Constitution in relation to a child born to her out of wedlock, provided proof of paternity.

The fourth bill aims to remove discrimination from the Constitution based on sex, being male or female.

Last week, Free National Movement Leader Dr Hubert Minnis said he has confidence the bills will pass in the House of Assembly despite previously expressed reservations by some sitting members of his party.

Montagu MP Richard Lightbourn has previously said he supported the first bill, but said the proposed constitutional amendments two and three needed further consideration.

St Anne’s MP Hubert Chipman and Central Grand Bahama MP Neko Grant have said they are not prepared to support the fourth amendment bill unless the government adds the words “at birth” to the question.

Dr Rollins has also said he does not support bill four, which some believe could inadvertently open the door for gay marriage. The government has repeatedly said this concern is unwarranted.

Dr Rollins stressed yesterday that “none of the concerns that I previously expressed in relation to the proposed bills was predicated on the premise of denying Bahamian women equal protections and freedoms under our Constitution.

“That would simply be undemocratic and unjust, and something I would never support. However, it is also my firm belief that any attempt to proceed with the gender equality referendum at this time under this administration will significantly set back, rather than advance, efforts to promote constitutional change in this regard.

“Presumably, the loyalty of Bahamian women’s rights advocates – and all others around the world – is foremost to ensuring the advancement of their cause, beyond that of any political party. If it is their desire for the gender equality referendum to succeed, they ought to raise their voices to state emphatically that they do not wish for this lame duck government to doom it to failure. This should be combined with securing a commitment from all political parties that they shall, without fail, hold a gender equality referendum exercise within 90 days of their election to government.

“This approach significantly minimises the possibility that a referendum exercise will be doomed by the excessive political baggage and failings of the sitting administration, as will certainly be the case if one were held now. After all, postponing this exercise another 14 months is far more desirable than potentially having it postponed for another 14 years,” Dr Rollins said.