ABCRE wants Constitution re-written

A US-based group of Antiguans and Barbudans is hoping to put enough pressure on the current administration to reword the Constitution of Antigua & Barbuda in order to make it more user friendly.
Treasurer of Antiguans and Barbudans for Constitutional Reform and Education (ABCRE) Vince Casey McCoy said that as it stands, some of the terms used in the Constitution make the laws too “difficult to understand”.
On Thursday night, ABCRE held an open forum-styled town hall meeting which was organised to educate the public about its intentions.
‘We want the local man on the street to be able to read and understand the Constitution, but they can’t understand it,” McCoy said. “A lot of the language used [is] legal parlance.”
He said the Constitution ought to be brought up to date because it was handed down by Britain.
“This Constitution was given to us by England as an order of Parliament in 1981. Since then, we have changed anything and a lot has changed in Antigua & Barbuda,” he recalled.
McCoy also claimed that the Constitution should be introduced in local schools as part of the curriculum.
“The Constitution is not widely read. We want it in schools, so that students know what the laws entail,” he added.
The ABCRE treasurer said that another town hall meeting is in the planning stage, as the main goal of the organisation is to educate the masses.
In the final analysis, ABCRE is hoping to produce a document through which it will present its concerns to the Government of Antigua & Barbuda.