Constitutional Commission Chairman Sean McWeeney said The Bahamas will likely be considering constitutional reforms for more than a decade, adding that the current considerations on gender equality are a "good start" to the larger process.
"I'm pleased that the constitutional reform exercise that we're involved with now has exercised the electorate as intensely as it has," McWeeney told The Nassau Guardian in a recent interview.
"I think it's a wonderful sign going forward because, remember, this is going to be the first of a series of referenda over a very long period of time," he said, referring to the November 6 referendum on gender equality. "We are probably going to be looking at reforms to the constitution over the next ten to fifteen years. So I think that this is a good start."
Some of the proposed constitutional changes that would lead to gender equality have sparked widespread debate, particularly bill number four, which would make it unconstitutional to discriminate against someone based on sex.
Several members of Parliament, including those on the governing side, have expressed strong concerns that the word "sex" is open for interpretation and the bill could pave the way for same-sex marriage in The Bahamas.
McWeeney said the issues the commission is faced with now will help guide the process in the future.
Last July, the commissioners made public their 250-page report detailing a wide range of recommendations.
The report came nine months after it was appointed by Prime Minister Perry Christie to look at constitutional reform.
In total, the commission made 73 recommendations, but McWeeney said only about 30 represent issues that would require actual constitutional changes.
The elimination of gender equality was among the list of recommendations the commission presented.
The commission also recommended that The Bahamas keep the death penalty on its books. However, the commission suggested that the law be amended to increase the likelihood that the death penalty would be carried out.
Other notable recommendations include the retention of the Privy Council as the country's highest court of appeal; increasing the number of senators and the creation of an independent Boundaries Commission.
The commission also suggested that the prime minister's powers be modified so that instead of having the authority to dissolve Parliament at any time, the nation's leader must give at least nine months' notice ahead of a general election.
The Constitutional Commission further recommended that the automatic right to a jury trial in the Supreme Court in certain instances be removed.
The report noted that the constitution guarantees a jury trial when a person is charged in the Supreme Court.
"That alone should signal that it might be necessary to look seriously at the utility of retaining such a provision," the report said. "But importantly it was never suggested that removing the constitutional right to trial by jury would introduce any unfairness to the system."
The commission also recommended that there be a size limit on the Cabinet, capping it at 15.
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