Sammy Mataroa’s letter in yesterday’s edition of the Cook Islands News (Resolving election disputes) gives a very good explanation why Parliament should not support the constitutional amendment tabled by Government which would allow Parliament to sit notwithstanding that there are outstanding electoral petitions.

The reasons given by the PM for the amendment are weak.

Should Parliament be allowed to sit before petitions are determined then it could mean that an MP who was subsequently found guilty of electoral offences e.g. bribery and treating, was a party to an adverse decision earlier made by Parliament. If the winning margin during the election was close then a corrupt government would take advantage of the numbers to achieve undesirable results. The integrity of Parliament should be preserved and not fettered.

Following the General Elections in 2014, I recall that nine electoral petitions were filed challenging the results of the elections. The Court dealt with all petitions within the prescribed 90 days. As a result of the petitions, two seats were awarded to the Democratic Party resulting in a hung Parliament.

The proposed amendment, if it applied at the time, would have given the CIP (Cook Islands Party) Government the numbers to do as it pleased. This is an example why the proposed amendment should not be supported in Parliament.

The answer to the problem is therefore to tighten up the Court process, not amend the Constitution. Some strict timelines for dealing with the petitions should be imposed and a budget made available to meet the expenses. 

It is critical that the public has confidence that government is working in the public’s best interest, not just for the select few.

Lee Harmon