BY MAVIS N PODOKOLO
THE Solomon Islands Council of Trade Union (SICTU) calls on the government to set up a special select committee that will consult on the government’s intention to defer next year’s national election.
“The committee would undertake appropriate consultations throughout the country on the proposal,” SICTU said in a statement.
“The four year-term life of the parliament has been provided for under the National Constitution, which had been formulated based on the peoples’ views collected under the leadership of the First Chief Minister late Solomon Mamaloni,” the statement added.
“The national consultation on our national constitution continued under the leadership of the country’s first Prime Minister Late Sir Peter Kenilorea, before Solomon Islands attained its independence on the 7th of July 1978.
“In view of the wider consultations which our former leaders had conducted before independence, there is a clear obligation on the current government to facilitate and implement the same level of wider national consultations with our people, on its proposal to extend the life of parliament from four to five years.”
SICTU is made up of the Workers Union of Solomon Islands (WUSI), The Solomon Islands Public Employees Union (SIPEU), and the Solomon Islands National Teachers Association (SINTA).
The trade union body says it will work with all its affiliated members to consult their general membership on what possible forms of actions the trade union movement will take should it becomes necessary.
