The idea of 'consent of the governed' was so powerful that it
was adopted by Thomas Jefferson, principal author of the “American Declaration of Independence” June,
1776. However, that concept is lost on the Dominica Labor Administration. They believe that, because they were elected
as a majority Government 17 years ago, they have a right to remain in power. So, this Labor Administration is not really
concerned about consent from the “governed”. They
are determined to remain in power and will do 'whatever it takes’ to get a
majority vote. They have been bribing overseas voters to travel to Dominica to
vote for the past 3 election cycles and they have no intention of stopping this
practice. They will continue to do so even
if they must change the law to enable this illegal behavior.
Democracy under Assault
This is an unfortunate situation because Dominica is a democracy which functions under a parliamentary system. Under this system there are few checks and balances. This means that elections become the only avenue for the people to decide who they want to govern the country. Therefore, when this process is circumvented by unscrupulous leaders, Democracy is severely eroded. In the case of Dominica, the current administration is set to change the Electoral laws to make it easier for them to transport as many voters from outside the country as they deem necessary to achieve electoral victory. Just imagine, you are living in a country, and outsiders get to pick who will govern you for 5 years. This is what the people of Dominica have been facing for several years. It is illegal and violates the countries existing laws; now, the perpetrators want to codify this practice into law.
'Bloated Voters' List - Weapon of
Choice
Dominica's bloated voters list remains both the springboard from which the Administration launches its attack on democracy and the spike used to administer ghastly blows on the country's constitution. One must wonder why? Over the years, the Electoral office has not been doing its work. According to the Registration of Electors Act, the voters list must be updated and published at least once a year. That means all the dead persons and those who have been living overseas for more than 5 years should be off the list. How difficult is that? Instead, all the Electoral Office appears to do is to register new voters. No wonder the list has thousands of people with the number of voters being equal to the population of Dominica. How is that possible? As it stands the Electoral Office has violated the electoral laws. Is Chief Elections Officer, Mr. Larocque, another mole of the Labor Party? They have already hijacked the Electoral Commission.
Mr. Gerald Burton, Chairman
of the Electoral Commission, is the biggest stooge of the Labor Administration; it is no surprise that he agreed to recommendations proposed by the Labor
Administration even if such changes could impact Democracy in Dominica for
years to come. Mr. Burton is gutless and
he should resign. Like other members of the Electoral Commission, under the Constitution he derives
tremendous independence to work on behalf of the people of
Dominica, free from interference by political and governing parties. Instead, Mr. Burton is working on behalf of the
Skerrit-led Labor Administration, aided by Attorney General (Mr. Levi Peters) in
drafting legislation to take away rights from the majority of Dominicans and give it to Dominicans who have chosen to reside, work and pay taxes outside of Dominica for several years without returning to the island. The Constitution
was set up to protect the votes of those living in Dominica, not those who
choose to live outside of the country. Dominicans living outside of the country, continuously for more than five years, must meet specific residency requirements before being permitted to vote.
Virulent Violation of the
Constitution and rule of Law to Maintain Power
It is evident that the Labor Administration does not abide by the rules. They are prepared violate the laws and constitution of Dominica to maintain their clutch on power. No one knows why this administration is fighting so hard to remain in power. By the next election they would have been in power for 20 years. One would think that they would be able to say that they are satisfied of having performed for the Dominican people and move on. Instead, Members of the current Administration seem panicked about being out of office. Are they scared that they will lose all the money and privileges that they now enjoy and they might even have to work for living like everyone else?
The proposed changes to Electoral Act must not be allowed to
go forward. Whoever heard of an Administration of a small Country which has chorused that voter ID cards are too expensive but is willing to spend money to go
overseas to 'confirm' voters? How will they
'confirm' all voters? Are 'Laborites’ going to be given preference? Are New
Jersey and Miami going to be given priority over Alaska? Where do you draw the line? Does it mean that
it will be acceptible to disenfranchise some 'Freedomites' in Australia but the “Laborites”
in Miami should get to vote? This will not stand up to a court challenge.
Lawyers advising the Administration need to take a Refresher course because
their reasoning is stale. Probably they may not have heard about the big change that
occurred regarding the result of a recent election in East Africa. On September 1, 2017, the results of the Kenyan Presidential
Election was overturned in a 4-2 Decision by the Kenyan Supreme Court because
of illegalities. The Kenyan Independent Electoral
and Boundaries Commission, IEBC, was ordered to start the process all over again with new polls
within 60 days. Just imagine! The Majority reasoning was interesting and
bear relevance to other Commonwealth Jurisdictions. Chief Justice David Maraga, writing for the
majority, laid all blame of the illegalities and irregularities on the Chairman
of the IEBC, Mr. Wafula Chebukati, rather than on the President-elect, Uhuru
Kenyatta. Mr. Gerald Burton had better take note.
Under existing law, Dominica's Electoral Commission has the power
to create voter ID Cards for electors in Dominica. Mr. Burton is being complicit
in facilitating inclusion of language in the proposed amendment which would let
the Labor Administration 'confirm' voters living
overseas. The mechanics of this 'confirmation' remains fluid and dubious. Mr. Burton wields the tie-breaking vote on the
Commission and, if he was concerned, is empowered to take the Commission's concerns to the
public without fear of retribution from the Labor Party Administration. Hence, the Electoral Commission can work in
the public's interest to thwart destructive electoral legislation from getting
to Parliament. One can conclude that Mr. Burton does not mind if Democracy in Dominica is demolished.
What Remedies are available to Voters?
What Remedies are available to Voters?
Including 'destructive' language in the proposed amendments
to the House of Assembly Electoral Act that would violate the spirit of the Constitution
is illegal and must not be allowed to proceed. Voters living overseas must not be given priority over the local
voters. The Dominican business of voting must not be taken out of the boundaries of Dominica where control
and scrutiny is lost. Taking machines
out of Dominica to confirm voters overseas is antithetic to the country's Constitution.
Whoever heard of such nonsense?
Mr. Gerald Burton and the Electoral Commission must direct
the Electoral Office and Chief Elections Officer, Mr Larocque, to begin the
task of issuing voter ID cards as outlined in the House of Assembly Elections
Act (Registration of Electors Act) without the need for biometrics. Likewise,
the current Act does not permit the illegal activity of registering voters
aboard. Under the Act, any change of address should be communicated to the
Electoral office by the voter. The
Electoral Office is obliged to publish changes and communicate with voters at most
recent address. The Labor Administration, aided by Attorney General Levi Peters
and their unelected gang of 'rogue
Lawyers', should stop trying to introduce laws that could dismantle the Constitution,
wrest power away from electors and transform their current illegal actions into
destructive routine activities.
The remedies available to voters are limited but powerful. According to John Locke, ”government exist to protect the people’s natural rights, life, liberty and property". If government fail to do so, then the people are left with no choice except to exercise their rights to……..
The remedies available to voters are limited but powerful. According to John Locke, ”government exist to protect the people’s natural rights, life, liberty and property". If government fail to do so, then the people are left with no choice except to exercise their rights to……..
