This week, once again, I saw a media interview in which the journalist was making ‘probing’ questions as to whether or not a newly elected area representative (AP) feels disappointed that he was not ‘rewarded’ with a ministerial portfolio after having won in a UDP stronghold. … sigh….I’ve been saying it for years, but let me try to be as succinct as I can this time.

Here goes: “The less Area Representatives appointed to Cabinet, the BETTER FOR the people in terms of checks and balances against an incumbent prime minister and his government.”

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#DutiesOFareaREPs

“The first duty of a member of Parliament is to do what he or she thinks in his or her faithful and disinterested judgement is right and necessary for the honour and safety of Great Britain. His second duty is to his constituents, of whom he is the representative but not the delegate. … It is only in the third place that his duty to party organization or programme takes rank. All these three loyalties should be observed, but there is no doubt of the order in which they stand under any healthy manifestation of democracy.“

— Winston Churchill, Duties of a Member of Parliament (c.1954–1955)

Whether one likes or dislikes Churchill as a historical figure, it is hard to find fault with this quote regarding the duties of MPs, who for us in Belize are commonly referred to as “Area Representatives” (APs). For our purposes here, let’s call this the ‘Churchillian Hierarchy of APs’ Duties’.

Interestingly, however, despite all the attention and fanfare we give these APs, have we realized that the rubric we use to grade these APs is a bit inaccurate? Let me explain what I mean.

Section 89(2) of the Constitution says: “Each electoral division shall be represented in the House of Representatives by one elected member”. Good. We know this. We also know what the House of Representatives is, correct?

Section 55 of the Constitution establishes the LEGISLATURE, which is comprised of two Houses: The House of Representatives and the Senate. Then, in section 68 of the Constitution, this Legislature is given law-making powers for “the peace, order and good government of BELIZE”. Notice it didn’t say “of the particular Electoral Division that the AP represents”.

As a result, we may take some liberties and rewrite Churchill’s quote above thus: “The first duty of an Area Representative is to do what he or she thinks in his or her faithful and disinterested judgment is right and necessary for the peace, order and good government of BELIZE”. Continue reading →