CRC receiving suggestions for political term limits in VI– Lisa E. Penn-Lettsome
Mrs Penn-Lettsome was at the time a guest on ‘Real Talk’ with host Karia J. Christopher and guest Ronnie W. Skelton on December 8, 2022.
Terms limits being suggested - Mrs Penn-Lettsome
“Our job is to solicit from the public what their views are and what they would like to see. So since we started the public consultations, we've actually heard this suggestion [term limits] quite a number of times and their pros and cons. Some people are for it and some people are against it,” Mrs Penn-Lettsome told Mrs Christopher.
“One of the disadvantages with it… [is] Something is not right with accountability if one person is in the legislature for decades without any break or so in between, especially if that's the case, if they are consecutive terms,” she said.
Mrs Penn-Lettsome said drawbacks raised by those who are against term limits include that it would lessen the pool of persons who were potentially interested in politics.
“It would probably make it less attractive for them because we have to bear in mind when politicians give up their day-to-day, ordinary 9 to 5 job, it's very difficult for them to get back into the mainstream if they're not successful in politics.
“So, the argument is that it may make it more unattractive to encourage persons to run for political life if there were term limits, and we've heard counterarguments to that… that they actually think it's the opposite.”
Mrs Penn-Lettsome said; however, one good suggestion they have received is to meet halfway and not have full-term limits but staggered political terms.
“So instead of saying that you can only run for two consecutive terms and that's it, say you can only run for two consecutive terms but then a break of at least maybe five years or 10 years needs to be in between and then you can run again and your term limit will then refresh, the counter will be reset,” she said.
Term limits should not be for everyone- Ronnie W. Skelton
Seasoned politician Mr Skelton said in the case of the US political and US Congress, there are no overall term limits.
He noted; however, there are term limits on presidents and governors and added that he would support term limits for positions like the Premier and Speaker of the House, along with a system to recall elected district politicians.
“But if we want the best Westminster system, where you have a legislature and you have a premier, then if you put systems in place that the Constitution and the Standing Orders talk about, then there will be no need for term limits for everybody,” Mr Skelton said.
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7 Responses to “CRC receiving suggestions for political term limits in VI– Lisa E. Penn-Lettsome”
In many and mine honest opinion, especially the Premier position should not be decided by a group of elected politicians, but rather the decision of the voters Territory wide, if good governance is to be experienced in the BVI. Other crucial positions also need to be included.
Thank you Lisa Penn-Lettsome for raising the Topic Issue. It's importance should not be overlooked, but rather act upon for the betterment of all the citizens of the British Virgin Islands.