( l - r ) Phillips and Knight

Edmond Campbell, News Coordinator

Party lines were erased in Parliament yesterday as members locked horns over an amendment by the Senate to three election bills, changing a provision for mandatory sentencing of persons who intentionally display their ballots, to a discretionary ruling by the courts.

Leader of Government Business in the House Dr. Peter Phillips had first declared that the House could not adopt the amendments of the Senate, and as such, would return the bills to the Upper House.

However, after strong positions were presented by MPs on both sides of the political divide, Dr. Phillips yielded to a suggestion that the bills be sent back to the Electoral Commission for review.

The bills to be examined are the Representation of the People Act, the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation Act and the Parish Council Act.

The commission, in a letter to the House leader, said: "We resolutely disagree with the action taken by the Senate and would respectfully ask the House of Representatives to abide by its original action."

When the House first debated the bills, it said the mandatory sentencing provision should remain, as there was a convention that Parliament should not amend recommendations from the commission.

MPs disagree

However, some MPs disagreed with this position.

In its letter yesterday, the commission said it had no disagreement in principle with the Senate's objection to mandatory minimum sentencing guidelines for offences under the Representation of the People Act and other election laws.

In this regard, the commission gave an undertaking to review all legislation pertaining to elections, where mandatory minimum sentencing guidelines were prescribed, and were at variance with modern legislative standards.

But Government backbencher, K.D. Knight, took issue with the commission's position, contending that Parliament should not be bound by any convention.

Knight made it clear that he would not rubber stamp any proposal from the Electoral Commission because of a convention.

"It is not a matter that you're setting a precedent that Parliament will disagree and move away from recommendations, each must be looked at on its own merit lest Parliament itself be embarrassed and fall into error," he said.

He suggested that a joint select committee of Parliament be established to deal with the amendments.

Information Minister Donald Buchanan, in his remarks, warned parliamentarians that if the bills were not passed in time for the next election, there could be actions that would undermine the electoral process.