And so Mr. Barrow's government moves towards Friday's House meeting to present the ninth amendment for second and third readings - and at this time there is no leader of the opposition named to lead the debate against it.
But there are forces working feverishly to stop the passage of the ninth into law. That is, of course, the Ashcroft Alliance - which has brought in eminent British Q-C, Lord Peter Goldsmith to ask for an injunction restraining the Attorney General and the Governor General from signing it into law.
The hearing for that was held this afternoon before Chief Justice Kenneth Benjamin. There were 9 attorneys in the courtroom, The Solicitor General Cheryl Krusen and her entourage of four Crown Counsels, while Goldsmith had four to back him up including Godfrey Smith and Lisa Shoman.
Arguments went until late in the evening and finished just before news time - here's what Godfrey Smith had to say as he left the court:
Godfrey Smith - Attorney
"Essentially, it was a case brought before the Supreme Court by two people who signed the petition for referendum, and the essence of the case was that the Government has refused to agree to have a referendum before bringing the 9th amendment into force. The application is an attempt to get an interim injunction to stop the process of bringing the 9th amendment into force, without first holding a referendum. That's the essence of the case. Arguments were heard this afternoon, and the Chief Justice has said that he will give a decision on Friday Morning at 9 a.m."
So that decision will be handed down at 9:00 on Friday morning just as the Prime Minister is getting ready to present the bill for second and third readings.
The PM today discussed the continuing public controversy over the Ninth - and said the opposition is more than he is comfortable with, but he is convinced that in the long term, the public will see that the outrage exceeded the actual threat, which he said is nil:
Prime Minister Dean Barrow - Prime Minister of Belize
"Those that oppose the 9th have been able to persuade all these well-intentioned, reasonably-minded people that the 9th amendment will erode the individual rights of Belizeans. I am resting content because time will clearly prove that wrong. What happens - and I am going to say this on Friday - what happens 6 months from now? What happens a year from now? What happens 2 years from now, when it becomes clear to everybody that not a single solitary Belizean individual would have been affected, in any way, negatively by the passage of the 9th? It can't stand. Remember that all the 9th is doing is to enshrine the nationalization of the utilities, which, it appears to me, the vast majority of people believe is good thing, and clarifying constitutional provisions so as to secure that nationalization. The argument has been, 'Well that clarification is what is going to take away your rights,' how? Even if you concede that the clarification is meant to ensure that no court will overturn a constitutional amendment, and in particular this constitutional amendment, how does this constitutional amendment affect any Belizean negatively? And which other constitutional amendment will there be in the future that the law will prevent the courts from overturning, that will trample on Belizean rights? None. I fear no permanent fallout; I fear no fallout from the 9th amendment that will affect us negatively by the time the next election comes because I am saying that time will have proven that all this apocalyptic language, all these predictions of doom, will have been shown to be false - will not materialize in the slightest possible degree."
