THE VALLEY, Anguilla (AP):
ANGUILLA WILL create a constitutional and electoral reform commission next year to handle issues such as the legislature's size and residency qualifications, the governor of the British Caribbean territory said.
It will also review the governor's powers and constitutional rights and freedoms.
The commission will include opposition lawmakers and representatives of non-profit groups, and will have six months to draft recommendations, the British-appointed Gov. Alan Huckle said in a radio address this week.
Lawmakers will debate the suggestions and submit them to the British Government.
Anguilla may propose constitutional changes, but Huckle said that Britain will have the power to preserve good governance, judicial independence and to ensure compliance with international obligations. But it will not influence the constitutional debate.
"London has no draft up its sleeve, everything depends entirely on what Anguilla wants," Huckle said.
Many Anguillans support constitutional and electoral reforms to give the island more autonomy. The current constitution was adopted in 1982.
