I was in the House of Assembly when the first effort was made to amend our constitution in order to ensure that Bahamian women enjoyed the same rights as Bahamian men and to provide for a constitutionally sanctioned Teacher's Service Commission, independent parliamentary commissioner and to increase the retirement age of judges.

I was in the House of Assembly and saw with my own eyes as virtually all members of Parliament, FNM and PLP, voted in favor of every single amendment to the constitution. I remember that truly historic day when, indeed, the Bahamas constitution was amended, as sufficient votes were received in the Parliament to give effect to some amendments that did not require a vote by the population and provided the support needed to get the vote of the population where required. I was in the front seat of history for this historic day.

I was also there to watch grown men and women leave the Parliament after their affirmative vote and be persuaded within hours that they had done the wrong thing by voting yes and changed their minds about it. Intelligent, mature, seasoned leaders of the nation's sovereign House of Assembly left that place and within hours turned coat on a sacred process. Some even suggested that they were "seduced" into voting in support of that which now they lead the charge to do. Seduced! Grown men and women. Seduced! I was there to see the turn. I had a front seat.

They now say that they changed their minds because the Ingraham administration did not handle the process correctly and that they felt that the vote was being shoved down the throats of Bahamians. Fine! No problem! But they came to that conclusion only hours after voting that way on a substantial constitutional initiative that had itself been in discussion and in debate for days, yea even weeks. These intelligent, mature and seasoned leaders told the nation that they did not think about the process and its mishandling until after they voted on the matters in Parliament. That is truly amazing.

Legislators, if nothing else, must be thoughtful; must have full regard for their decisions in the Parliament because they have broad ramifications and lasting consequences. It is never a good sign that leaders could take such matters lightly. Indeed, it is frightening that they can. Can legislation be wrong or not the best structured? Absolutely! And it can be revisited as time goes on, sometimes even shortly after passage. But the complaints of the turncoats were not about the legislation, but the process. The process?

I was there and had a front seat to history. As I understood it, the opposition at the time, after voting yes, had a meeting with powerful voices in the party, senior people of longstanding influence. One of those voices spoke more clearly and loudly than all and was at the time a pivotal figure in the crafting of the opposition's election strategy. That voice suggested that to support the referendum resulting from the vote in Parliament, and having that referendum succeed so near to an election, was tantamount to giving up any hope of winning that election.

Convinced by this argument, the about-face was sealed and all that was left to save face was a proper objection. As it turns out, that objection was "the process". It also turns out that this was the politically wise thing to do because the campaign to vote no succeeded and the opposition succeeded in winning the government.

The current opposition, in the face of the upcoming June 7, 2016 constitutional referendum, could well embrace the expression that "payback is a..." but it seems to have embraced a more noble sentiment - perhaps, "vengeance is mine sayeth the Lord". Whatever its decision this much remains true for me: the opposition in 2002 acted disdainfully in its opposition to the constitutional referendum changes that would have given Bahamian women the same rights as men.

Today they must accept that there is immense irony in their present effort and the time is always right to do what is right and the present opposition is right.

Yes, I was there. I had a front seat and what I recall is not the same as what I now hear many recalling as they attempt to justify their political deeds with talk of a flawed process. But such is life. Sometimes where a man stands, or a woman, depends on where he sits or she sits.

o Zhivargo Laing is a Bahamian economic consultant and former Cabinet minister who represented the Marco City constituency in the House of Assembly.

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