CHARLESTOWN, Nevis – DEPUTY PREMIER of Nevis and Leader of the Federal Opposition, the Hon. Mark Brantley has accused agents of the Nevis Reformation Party (NRP) and the St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP) of rigging the Voters List with the aim of disenfranchising overseas voters.
Brantley made this accusation, among others, last evening (Oct. 8) during his weekly radio programme ‘On The Mark’.
He said that General Election in the twin-island Federation is near, that he learnt calls have been made overseas for voters to be prepared and he had seen activities on Nevis that led him to that conclusion.
“An election is nigh and we have seen the activity on the ground here. I am not going to treat it this evening because I have a big matter to deal with this evening. But what I will say is that the agents of the Nevis Reformation Party in Nevis and, by extension, the Labour Party, which has taken over control of the NRP, that they are at work again. Doing what? Disenfranchising the people of Nevis! This time they focus their attention on the overseas voters. And so I’m asking you if you are overseas and you are supporter of the CCM, or if you are overseas period, because whether you support CCM or not it is your right to vote, that you pay attention and that you have your family check the Voters List.”
In furtherance of his explanation, the Deputy Premier said: “How do I know this? Because just yesterday they removed a number of overseas voters who they presume are supporters of the CCM. I will get into that because I think that these matters need to be talked about, ventilated and exposed. The NRP went to court, their agents went to court, the Premier himself and the null and void Hensley Daniel were in court,” adding that the court castigated them “about their conduct and behaviour. Yet, here again, the characters have changed but the characteristics remain the same”.
In support of his accusations, Brantley cited a recent incident involving his aunt.
“My aunt comes home for the funeral of her brother only to find out when she goes to collect her ID, to be told: ‘Check the system objected to...neighbouring who?’ Only one problem...never got any notice. Now, didn’t we go to court in 2012 over the same issue? And what did the judge say? And you ask the question therefore, ‘Why are we not learning? Why?’ This is exactly what the judge spoke about in 2012. The Court of Appeal spoke eloquently, and here we go again...people being removed from the Voters List. And because they have devised new strategy, it is targeting the overseas voters because they feel you are the least likely to know and the least likely to be paying attention.”
The Federal Opposition Leader is of the view that the only system of methods, principles and rules of contesting an election that the NRP and SKNLP comprehend is to deceive.
“The only methodology they understand is to cheat, disenfranchise people, make sure that your home and supporters cannot vote; forget about your appeal to voters with your ideas and the power of your vision for the island. That, my friends, is irrelevant to Labour and NRP. Rig the List, rig the List, rig the List...that is the only methodology that they know! But I am here to tell you that they bounded the Sheriff for a reason and I will not standby. I did not standby yesterday, I will not standby today and I will not standby tomorrow, so long as I have breath and see how people disenfranchised again.
Brantley called on the people of Nevis, especially those who reside overseas, to be ever vigilant, noting that "what we thought was thing of the past is very much so".
