BASSETERRE St. Kitts, Yet another dark cloud hovers over the spectacularly beautiful islands of St. Kitts and Nevis, and it is obscuring the vision and retarding the progress of this nation’s people.
Recently, nationals have had to acknowledge that the cloud of indebtedness hovering over their economic development is dark and ominous. Being the second most indebted nation in the world is not the sunny side of the country the authorities would wish to portray to tourists or investors.
The Prime Minister has admitted finally that the high debt level is unsustainable, and the presence of the IMF at a joint press conference with the government signified that the country is still tumbling into an abyss with its constant borrowing.
Just last week residents were almost smothered by the cloud of crime that rose to a record number of four murders in one week. The outlook for the country became decidedly bleak.
Now the pride nationals felt in being a budding democracy has been put on ‘pause’ as they grapple with the irregularities that occurred during local elections in Nevis.
A cloud now hangs over the election results and will continue to hover until plausible explanations can be given for the last minute adjustments made to electoral lists just nine days and two days before that election that was held there on Monday July 11th -adjustments that left a number of voters abruptly disenfranchised with no chance to legally object in the short time left.
No lesser organizations than the Organisation of American States and the St. Kitts Nevis Chamber of Industry and Commerce have expressed some dissatisfaction over irregularities observed during the election period and they have called once more for meaningful electoral reform.
Even those who have distanced themselves from politics and those who supported the victorious political party have admitted to having a feeling of unease over what has been happening in Nevis, and have confessed that they remain nervous about possible outcomes.
One such person, Dr. Patricia Bartlette, the local vet, who claims to have no political affiliations, publicly expressed the outrage that many on both islands were feeling:
“Through no fault of their own,” she says, “a segment of our population has been disenfranchised... It is in my humble opinion that this reprehensible act perpetrated on our law abiding citizens is tantamount to treason.”
Is there a silver lining behind this new cloud overhanging these islands that is blurring their vision and retarding their progress?
The Justice System is being called upon to lighten the darkness and shine a light on how the Constitution and the Electoral laws ought to be followed.
We expect the future to be filled with long drawn out election battles in Court where attempts to highlight intricate legal technicalities might overshadow the restoration of any individual rights that will renew trust in the practises of this young democratic state.
There are those who are vehemently stating that only the wind of change could blow away these dark clouds that are putting the brakes on national progress.
The change to which they refer is a change of government. But this can only happen if elections are free and fair with one man one having one vote, and if residents (without the help of non-residents) decide from their experience whom their representatives ought to be.
Further there must be no last minute additions to or subtraction from the electoral list. This issue must be resolved before any future election.
Will the Courts be able to do this? To the layman the case may appear straightforward, especially since judgement was already handed down on the test case of the five whom the judge ruled should be reinstated.
But nationals now know from experience that election cases have been thrown out merely from procedural matters and legal technicalities. Nationals must pin their hopes on Justice and Democracy prevailing when the light of the High Court shines through this dark hovering cloud. But we have learnt that Law and Justice are not always synonymous.
Only Truth can really set a nation free. Nationals are therefore hoping that those who know the truth will state it without fear or favour.
“There is a higher court than courts of justice and that is the court of conscience. It supercedes all other courts.”
Mohandas Gandhi
