Grenada: Key referendum on to be held Oct. 27

Will Grenada ditch Privy Council in favor of regional CCJ?

Grenada will vote in a referendum for a new constitution on October 27 this year with the authorities acknowledging the importance of the month in Grenadian history.

In August this year, the Senate approved the 8 bills that would allow for changes to the Grenada Constitution once two thirds of the voter population approve the measures.

The country’s parliament, in July, also passed legislation that allows the country to replace the London-based Privy Council with the Trinidad & Tobago-based Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), as its final court.

The bills approved by legislators include the following:
– changing the name of the State from ‘Grenada’ to ‘Grenada, Carriacou & Petite Martinique’;
– instituting term limits for the Prime Minister;
– ensure Parliament provides fixed dates for general elections;
– the creation of an Elections and Boundaries Commission;
– ensure that there is always an Opposition Leader;
– replace the London-based privy Council with the Trinidad & Tobago-based CCJ as the final appellate court; and
– require that allegiance be sworn, no longer to the Queen, but to Grenada. -(CMC)