The Tribune

By RICARDO WELLS

Tribune Staff Reporter

rwells@tribunemedia.net

THE Constituencies Commission is expected to convene in the coming weeks, as House Speaker Dr Kendal Major denied that the group was behind schedule as described by Free National Movement Deputy Leader Peter Turnquest.

On Sunday, Dr Major, the commission’s chair, insisted the group had not been officially comprised as it is still awaiting the official naming of its last member - Education Minister Jerome Fitzgerald - in the House of Assembly.

The Garden Hills MP contended that once Mr Fitzgerald is identified as the last member of the committee in the House Assembly, he and Senior Supreme Court Justice Stephen Isaacs, the group’s deputy chair, will call the commission to order.

“The committee has just been properly comprised, Jerome (Fitzgerald) has been tapped for the last post and will be named this week, so all this talk about being behind makes no sense,” Dr Major said.

“Once the member for Marathon is acknowledged in the House, we will move ahead with meetings. I have spoken with the vice-chair of the committee, he was away for some time, upon his return we will communicate and conclude on a date for the commission’s first meeting,” he added.

Mr Turnquest, back in August, said he believed the Constituencies Commission should have already prepared a report on the constituency boundaries in the country and submitted it to Parliament.

On Saturday, he reiterated the statement, this time contending that any further delay would act as disadvantage to candidates in any new constituency.

He stated: “It’s important to candidates to know the area they will represent so that they have an opportunity to introduce themselves and their plans as well as to parties who may have to add candidates or realign candidates based upon how the lines may be changed.

“Hopefully we can begin this work shortly and give all candidates an equal chance to campaign.”

In late July, Deputy Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis said members of the Constituencies Commission would be appointed by the time the House of Assembly meet on August 3.

A month after that comment, on August 31, Prime Minister Perry Christie implied that a meeting date was close as he suggested that Exuma and Andros were two islands for which the establishment of additional seats could be considered.

It was at that time that Mr Turnquest made his original gripe with the commission’s schedule known.

Mr Turnquest, the FNM’s sole representative on the committee, claimed that there was no clarification over when the committee would meet.

The Constitution mandates that the Constituencies Commission review the number and boundaries of constituencies in the Bahamas at least every five years and report on whether changes should be made, such as creating additional constituencies or expanding or restricting existing ones.