Massa Day done! It done, done, done, done in truth. I am begging some one to run quick, quick, quick and tell Lindsay Grant and the rest that Massa Day done for true.
It is quite obvious that Lindsay Grant and PAM and its allies all live in a little dream world where they believe that Massa Day has not come to an end and that Massa and his political representatives must rule at all times.
PAM practices “Massa Day Politics” in that when the party is in power, PAM performs the role and functions of Ruling Party, and when PAM is out of power, the party still coerces the country in order to be able to perform the role and function of Governing Party.
The sooner the leader of PAM comes to grips with reality and acknowledges the fact that Massa day done, the better it would be.
In 1983, PAM unilaterally and surreptitiously restructured our entire Electoral System to the party’s own selfish advantage. When will certain editors and publishers rise up and remind PAM of the truth; especially those publishers who claim that their publication is “The Federation’s politically independent news source”?
PAM was able to restructure our country’s Electoral System to the party’s partisan advantage because in 1983 PAM was the government. PAM is now no longer the government and therefore PAM is no longer in a position to demand or dictate (as PAM is now trying to do) to anybody what the present Government should do or not do in respect of certain issues relating to Electoral Reform.
In a democratic society it is always the rule of a majority. Of course the views and wishes and opinions of the minority must be taken into consideration and assessed on the bass of their true worth and genuine value and their potential for promoting or protecting the cause of Democracy.
But that does not mean that a small minority of people or class of people has the inherent right to inflict its will, however selfish, unreasonable, unrealistic, irrational, dangerous or detrimental that will might be, upon an unwilling majority of people.
We in St. Kitts and Nevis are not in the 21st Century, living in the by-gone days of Massa, or under a mediaeval Feudal System where the Lords and Nobles tell the Serfs and Villains what to do and how to live their lives. Massa began to lose his day back in 1952 with the advent of Universal Adult Suffrage. (One Man, One Vote).
In the year 2004, the country held General Elections which were supervised by an Observer Team from both the CARICOM Secretariat and one from the Commonwealth Secretariat. The two (2) Observer Teams declared subsequently that the 2004 General Elections were “free and fair” and “free from fear”.
However in spite of such a declaration from the CARICOM and the Commonwealth Observer Teams, the PAM party challenged the Elections results and took the matter to the High Court charging fraud, irruption and illegal activities.
During the debate in the Assembly in 1983 on the Bill entitled “The House of Assembly Elections Ordinance (Amendment), 1983”, Sir Lee L. Moore Q.C. proposed and recommended to the Members of the PAM Government that Voter I.D. Cards should form part of our Electoral System.
Dr. Simmonds and his Merry Men laughed at Sir Lee and rejected out of hand all of the good man’s proposals and recommendations. Now, in 2007 the PAM party wants Voter I.D. Cards (with fingerprints). PAM had been agitating for the introduction of such Cards some time earlier this year.
So we have this ridiculous situation where PAM (a) rejected the declaration of the CARICOM Observer Team to the effect that the 2004 General Elections were creditable and (b) where the same PAM Rejected in 1983 the inclusion of Voter I.D. cards in our Electoral System.
After behaving in such an incredible fashion, PAM now has the face of brass to say that it is complaining the present Government to CARICOM.
PAM, as the representative of the last remnants, the last vestiges of the old time Massa, feels, just like the Massa of days of old, that the PAM party has the Divine right to rule the country. The Stuart kings of England in the 17th century felt that they ruled by Divine Right. PAM is under the same false and mistaken illusion that the PAM party is divinely ordained to rule the country.
It does not matter what percentage of the population vote in favour of, or decide in favour of, a particular issue or measure, whether 70% or 85%. It does not matter to PAM. Once PAM is in disagreement, PAM will move heaven and earth to get its way. PAM does not believe in the kind of Democracy that you and I believe in.
PAM is an ELITIST minority party with a minority of followers and supporters and unless the PAM party is allowed to have its own way, the PAMites will always shut that there is no Democracy in the country.
PAM feels that it must always have its own way, so in May of 1967 the President and the Secretary of the PAM party wrote to the Governor at Government House, Springfield, demanding the resignation of the lawfully elected government of Premier Bradshaw. The Government did not resign. Why should it? After all, the Labour Party won PAM 7 seats to 0 on St. Kits at the General Elections that were held on 25th July, 1966.
So on the night of June 10th, 1967, members of the PAM party, who had been on training at the rifle range at Junks Hole in Anguilla, joined with certain invaders from Anguilla to topple by force of arms, the lawfully elected Government of Premier Robert Bradshaw. For PAM, Democracy proceeds out of the barrel of a gun.
It is obvious to all that PAM has an inconsistent, ambivalent and contradictory approach to the issue of Electoral Reform. People are still wondering why in 1983, PAM rushed head-long to change-up the Electoral System.
There were no known problems with the existing System and there was no popular outcry against the System. PAM therefore rushed to change up the Electoral System in 1983 as a means of ensuring that the Labour Party, then in Opposition, would never accede to power.
Having changed up the Electoral System to suit its own selfish partisan needs, PAM just sat back, relaxed and allowed the new System to do PAM’s dirty work, which was to keep PAM in power and Labour out of power.
The new System worked splendidly for PAM in 1984 and 1989. After 1989 the new System no longer gave PAM the intended partisan edge at Election time. Up until now, PAM has failed to recognise that systems and machines do not vote. Only people do. And it is the honest, truthful and sincere messages that resonate with the electorate that will determine how people vote. Not the abundance of lies and cheap sensational propaganda.
At no time between 1984 and 1995 was PAM ever interested in reforming the Electoral System. Multitudes of Kittitians and Nevisians were expressing great dissatisfaction publicly over the fact that large numbers of nationals, residing permanently abroad had been given the right, for the first time ever, by the new System to register and vote in our General Elections.
Nationals resident in St. Kitts and Nevis were outraged at the fact that nationals, who lived abroad permanently, and who had never visited St. Kitts or Nevis for some 20, 30 or 40 years, could now return home, on a Sunday, vote on the Monday and leave on the Tuesday. Some nationals even had flights from overseas which allowed them to arrive in St. Kitts on Monday morning and leave Monday afternoon after voting.
Masses of resident nationals argued that overseas nationals who do not reside permanently in St. Kitts or Nevis should never have been allowed to come here for just one or two days and determine the future of those who live here all the time. In spite of such outrage publicly expressed, year after year, PAM did nothing to change the System.
It was only in 1999, four (4) years after PAM lost the 1995 General Elections that the party showed some interest in Electoral Reform. PAM and the Democrat began to shout in strident tones in 19999 that “Electoral Reform is an urgent national priority”. You see what PAM wants, PAM must get.
Before PAM lost power, Electoral Reform was neither “urgent” nor was it a “national priority”. Electoral Reform became “urgent” and a “national priority” only after Labour got in power.
Although the general public had been crying out, from 1984 to 1995, that PAM should stop the massive influx of overseas voter, the PAM Government did absolutely nothing about the matter. PAM waited until the party was out of power to bawl that “Electoral Reform is an urgent national priority”. PAM is now trying to make it extremely difficult for nationals from overseas to vote in our General Elections.
Year after year, since 1999, PAM has been shouting out its political mantra concerning Electoral Reform. But as everyone knows this is only PAM political propaganda. From the very beginning of the process of Electoral Reform PAM began to criticise and oppose the process, and to condemn and resist every valid move towards Electoral Reform.
In addition to that, PAM has refused to participate in any positive or helpful manner in any aspect of the process of Electoral Reform. It leaves one to wonder whether PAM is really interested in genuine Electoral Reform.
Isn’t PAM’s behaviour strange? The party has been calling for Electoral Reform for years on end and now that Electoral Reform is in progress the PAM party has refused to participate or become involved, does PAM have a logical consistent and non-partisan policy? PAM rejected Voter I.D. Cards in 1983 and now in 2007 PAM is marching publicly with a big band for Voter I.D. Cards (with finger-prints).
So far PAM has not made out a sensible, rational, realistic or convincing case for the introduction of finger-prints into the Voting System. PAM’s argument in favour of finger-prints is simply this: PAM wants it and PAM must have it. Never mind that I rejected it in 1983. I want it now and I must have it. Ninety percent (90%) of the population might not be in favour of finger-prints. But as long as PAM and a handful of people want finger-prints that is all that matters.
Here we have a classic example of Democracy, PAM style. I beg somebody go run quick, quick, quick and tell PAM that Massa Day done; it done for true in St. Kitts and Nevis.
PAM and the heirs of Old Massa are anxious to usher in the return of Massa Day. Consequently PAM is being pushed and pressured by the heirs of Old Massa into doing and saying a number of crazy and contradictory things.
For instance, at one time, PAM was saying that the Labour Government was afraid to go into the 2009 General Elections under new Electoral Laws and was therefore delaying the process of Electoral Reform.
Later on, PAM contradicted itself by issuing statements to the effect that the Labour Government is pushing the Reform Process too rapidly and certain groups and organisations may not be able to submit their views and opinions in time.
Also, PAM declared publicly that it would not participate in the process of Electoral Reform. That is what PAM said. But in spite of such a statement, PAM has stayed on the outside so far and has tried to intervene in and interfere with the Electoral Process in order to influence the outcome.
Certain high-raking PAMites used their influence to have an overseas expert visit St. Kitts and Nevis to speak on the topic of “Proportional Representation”. The expert did arrive and did speak on the topic. The public’s reaction to the visit was lukewarm. The attendance in Nevis and in St. Kitts was poor.
Why did PM want to change from the “First Past the Post” system to the system of “Proportional Representation”? It is very easy to decipher why.
Once again, PAM has contradicted itself and is intervening in and interfering with the process of Electoral Reform. It has been announced recently that PAM has invited Mr. Danville Walker, the Director of Elections in Jamaica, to visit St. Kitts and Nevis to talk in favour of “finger-prints”.
This is clearly interference and contradicts all that PAM has said previously concerning non-participation. But apart from this example of obvious contradiction wouldn’t it have been fair if PAM had also invited Dr. Peter Wickham, the well-known regional political analyst and noted Caribbean pollster to share with us his views, opinions and experience?
Danville Walker or no Danville Walker; Massa Day done!
