Former Saint Lucian diplomat, Ambassador Earl Stephen Huntley, will today, deliver a lecture on constitutional reform in Saint Lucia.

The lecture is yet another activity by The University of the West Indies (UWI) Open Campus in its continued promotion of public education on issues of national importance, and is a continuation of the National Television Network’s programming on constitutional reform.

In February and March, NTN broadcast four panel discussions on constitutional reform in Saint Lucia, that also dealt with the report of the Constitutional Reform Commission. The lecture “Constitutional Reform in Saint Lucia: Bridging the Divides in the Debate,” is based on a paper of the same name written by Ambassador Huntley. The paper was motivated by the 2015 parliamentary debate in Saint Lucia on the report of the Constitutional Reform Commission, established in 2004 to recommend a new constitution for Saint Lucia.

Ambassador Huntley will argue that Parliament’s consideration of the report revealed that there are three differing streams in the debate on constitutional reform: the views and desires of the people; the commission’s reflections on those views and its consequential recommendations; and the response of the parliamentarians to the commission’s recommendations. The lecture will present a model of a new constitution that attempts to marry those streams, by building on elements of all three. The model focuses on the structure of government; and the composition, election, and role of the executive and legislative branches as well as that of local government.

The public is invited to join the studio audience for the lecture at the NTN studios, Hewanorra House, Pointe Seraphine. The lecture is scheduled to commence at 7:30 p.m., and will also be broadcast LIVE on NTN.

Collaborating partners include The UWI Open Campus Saint Lucia, and the National Television Network.