Petrina Francis, Staff Reporter
( L - R ) Horne and Golding
Pointing to the potential for serious constitutional implications, Opposition Leader Bruce Golding yesterday urged Senator Norman Horne to resign from Parliament's Upper House following his decision to join the People's National Party (PNP).
The Gleaner understands that Sen. Horne was accepted by the PNP last week and is to run in a St. Elizabeth constituency.
In a letter addressed to Sen. Horne yesterday, Mr. Golding said that, if he remains in the Senate, it could give the PNP the two-thirds majority re-quired to amend en-trenched sections of the Constitution.
Sen. Horne was appointed to the Senate by then Opposition Leader Edward Seaga in 2002, but resigned from the party in 2004. He retained his position in the Upper House as an independent member.
Section 35 of the Constitution stipulates that the Senate shall consist of 21 persons, 13 of whom shall be appointed by the Governor-General, on the advice of the Prime Minster, and eight in accordance with the advice of the Leader of the Opposition.
"This balance was deliberately struck in order to ensure that the governing party, no matter the size of its majority in the House of Representatives, does not command a two-thirds majority in the Senate which would enable it unilaterally to amend entrenched provi-sions of the Constitution," said Mr. Golding.
"While you remained an independent member of the Senate, it could be argued that this critical safeguard had not been ruptured," he added.
The Opposition Leader continued: "However, having declared your support for the governing party and your intention to seek membership, it means that the party can now call on the support of 14 members, thereby giving it the two-thirds majority required to amend en-trenched sections of the Constitution."
Sen. Horne yesterday questioned whether Mr. Golding had the moral authority to send him the letter requesting his resignation.
He noted, while speaking to The Gleaner yesterday, that Mr. Golding remained a Member of Parliament after resigning from the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) when he resigned from the JLP and formed the National Democratic Movement (NDM) in 1995. The senator added that Sen. Hugh Dawes, in that same year, also remained in the Senate after crossing over to the Golding-led NDM from the JLP.
Senator Horne said he was in the process of preparing a full response to the Opposition Leader's letter.
