The weekend blitz on divorce may have left people scratching their heads over precisely how the country will go about deciding on the matter.
On Saturday, the Nationalist Party executive approved a motion outlining a roadmap that would have seen the divorce debate start in Parliament and proceed to a referendum only if the majority of MPs voted for the proposed Bill.
Barely had the ink set when on Valentine’s Day the Labour Party parliamentary group unanimously approved a resolution that would see a referendum on the Bill being held before the debate in Parliament kicks off.
The Times looked at the two options in an attempt to find out what they mean.
PN option:
This option means MPs could have the final say on divorce without people ever being consulted on the matter in a referendum. If, however, the proposed referendum clause is inserted in the Bill it would create a double hurdle for the introduction of divorce since people would only be consulted if MPs vote “yes”.
• Divorce Bill starts to be discussed in Parliament.
• MPs can shoot down the Bill during the first reading if a division is called and each MP would have to declare his or her vote. During the first reading the contents of a Bill are not discussed and the House is simply asked to give its go-ahead for the Bill to be published.
• If the Bill gains a majority in the first reading it proceeds to the second reading. A discussion on the general aims of the Bill is held in the plenary. After the debate MPs vote on the Bill. A no majority means the Bill is shot down but a yes majority means the Bill moves to committee stage where each article is discussed and voted upon.
• At committee stage the government side would propose the inclusion of a clause which stipulates that the law, if approved by Parliament, would only come into force if the people say “yes” in a referendum. If the clause is not approved, a referendum would not be held and divorce may become legal through a parliamentary vote.
• The Bill then makes it to the third and final reading. If MPs shoot it down, no referendum is held. If MPs vote in favour of divorce and the referendum clause is approved, the Bill will only become law if people vote yes in a referendum.
• If the referendum delivers a no vote the divorce Bill is shelved. If people vote “yes”, the President would have to sign the Bill making divorce legal.
PL option:
This option gives people the chance to express their position on the divorce Bill in Parliament through a referendum before MPs start to discuss the issue. However, given that the referendum is not binding, MPs may ignore the result and vote differently from the majority outcome.
• A consultative referendum is held asking people whether they agree with the salient points of the divorce Bill currently before Parliament.
• A “no” vote would stop the Bill in its tracks unless its proponents insist it still be debated in Parliament.
• A “yes” vote in the referendum would lead to a parliamentary discussion of the Bill.
• The parliamentary process, as outlined in the first option, follows through but at each stage where MPs are called to vote they may take note of the referendum result and vote according to the majority outcome or else ignore the referendum and vote according to conscience. MPs who have a personal position that is not consonant with the majority outcome may also choose to absent themselves from Parliament.
• If Parliament votes for divorce the Bill would become law after the President signs it.