ELECTION MUSINGS - Was planning to write a letter to the editor but then FB works so why not just here. I am also going to throw some caution to the wind as it is clear that when one says something that offends the partisan folks they often get tizzy and defensive and even sometimes downright offensive. Like many others I awaited the big announcement from my Prime Minister, unlike most though I did not expect it to be the election date. Frankly, we werent ready (no voter ID card), the Antigua and Barbuda Electoral Commission was not ready (objection hearings were still in progress) and UPP wasnt ready (have they passed the Income Tax Amendement yet to reduce the PIT as promised in the budget and so many other Bills still be in debated in Parliament). From beginning to the end of his speech in particular, I waited and listen; inhaled, waited - and nothing. We all heard the pronouncements given the Leader of the Opposition the handle to call the elections and the pundits have ventilated on that so I will give it a pass. I do however wish to ponder on the constitutional rationale for the delay in the elections. I reflect back to 2004 when the 5 years to the last election date, not the first sitting of Parliament, was not yet up when I could not get to my Office in the Ministry of Planning because strident UPP supporters were blocking the entry way waiting to physically throw the Minister of Planning out of Office. I recall one of our current ambassadors interrupting a presentation in the Lower House with shouts of call the election now again well in advance of the expiration of that 5th year. Can anyone recall a certain hammer man and crew going inside the Ministry of Finance and seeking to get hands on the then Minister of Planning to also toss him out of his office? No one remembered then about the constitutionally allotted time within which elections was due, but we must all remember now. To borrow from my Prime Minister - what was right then is wrong now..... This reflection is less about picking sides and more about trying to appreciate how democracy really works and trying to begin to decipher the difference between leaders and politicians and government by convenience.....
Posted on: Tue, 18 Mar 2014 15:12:40 +0000
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