PAM kicks off Campaign
~~Adz:Left~~ The People’s Action Movement kicked off its campaign for the upcoming General Election with its first public meeting of the year on Thursday 24th on Central Street.
This meeting set the tone for what is widely expected to be a bitterly fought political contest between the two majour Parties on St. Kitts. The main issue for the PAM is undoubtedly the issue of the voters list.
The Commonwealth Assessment Mission was among several stakeholders that identified the fraudulent registration of voters as the lynchpin of the corruption of the electoral system.
The PAM has always been in the forefront of the battle for Electoral Reform, spearheading a public campaign on the issue since 2000 and has paid special attention to the issue of the list including having a public demonstration about the list that resulted in the arrest of several members of the Leadership of the Party. There was also a symbolic burning of the voters list at a public meeting several years ago.
Despite these and several other efforts by NGOs most notably the CIC to bring attention to the problem of the fraudulent list the government has initiated a process of confirmation that serves only to legitimize the fraud.
Every speaker excoriated the Government for the mirage of reform that it has implemented and described the myriad of ways that it has made the problems worse rather than better and called attention to the social difficulties that will be increased should Labour inveigle itself into another tem in office. These included the precipitously high cost of living, the serious escalation in violent crime and the continuous increase in taxation.
The crowd gathered was vocally supportive of the speakers especially on the issue of the voters list and the high coat of living reflecting the importance that the public attaches to these issues and, in the case of the cost of living, the critical situation for many even middle income earners.
Several new speakers were debuted at this meeting inviting speculation about the possible identities of new candidates but the Leadership remained mum on this issue.
