In Barbados, opposition calls for constitutional reform before changes to parliament

Barbados risks entrenching a “constitutional vacuum” by pressing ahead with parliamentary reforms before overhauling its outdated constitution, Opposition Leader Ralph Thorne warned on Tuesday, calling for the government to halt the process and prioritise long-promised constitutional change. Thorne has dismissed the 2024 Parliamentary Reform Commission’s report as a pointless exercise in the absence of comprehensive constitutional reform, charging that Barbados continues to operate in a “constitutional vacuum” despite claiming republican status. Speaking in Parliament on Tuesday during debate on the resolution to take note of the report, Thorne warned that any reform of Parliament must take place only within the framework of a new Republican Constitution. He urged the government to halt the current process and instead table the long-awaited constitutional reform report, which remains unpublished.
Read the full article here: Barbados Today