NOW that elections are once more upon us (22nd Jan) in Nevis, we must ask what has changed since the successful electoral petitions were mounted last year, to ensure that elections will be free and fair.
Short of the resignation of the Supervisor of Elections and the Election official of Nevis, and the replacement of the names of persons who had been temporarily disenfranchised, what else has happened to ensure that history does not repeat itself?
We certainly do not expect any last minute removal of names – this would amount to contempt of court – carrying even greater penalties than tongue-lashings.
On the contrary, there are reports that lists have been inflated; and what has been far more puzzling is the cry that persons are registering where they do not live. This weak link in the electoral system must be corrected once and for all because the issue has become even more mind boggling!
Considering the many plane loads and boat loads of voters who arrive only for voting, why is it that all of these persons are not disqualified considering that they cannot possibly be registered where they live and may have never lived. Who decides where they are to be registered if they are living abroad?
Word reaching us through the airwaves is that there has been a sudden inflation of voters’ lists in some polling districts.
Though it has been a practice to allow overseas voters to retain their franchise despite being a resident or citizen of another country, in light of the hundreds or thousands of non-nationals acquiring the mantle of St. Kitts and Nevis citizenship recently, it must be asked whether some or many of these have become part and parcel of the sudden increase in voters’ lists.
No one knows how many passports have been sold; no one knows whether ‘nouveau citizens’ now outnumber the indigenous population; no one knows whether passports are being arbitrarily distributed for important favours.
No one knows whether the rumours are credible that Kittitians are sent up to Nevis periodically so that so as to appear familiar to the voters when they do arrive at the polling station on Polling Day.
In light of all of the above, how can we continue to tolerate overseas voting and pretend that our electoral system is anything but a mockery…a farce? How can we know beyond the shadow of a doubt that our elected leaders have not become leaders because of overseas constituents – persons who do not have to pay our taxes, tolerate the nature of our schools and hospitals and criminal activity, and who return to their safe havens without a backward glance?
The time has come, as revealed this week when we witnessed government ministers talking truth to power, for our intelligent and well educated citizens to live up to the standard of their intellect.
We cannot sit and look away from the loopholes in our system which make us state falsely that we live in a democracy, that we hold free and fair elections, when in fact, as the Courts ruled, we do not.
We may be glibly addressing persons as “honourable’ when in fact, they are not, and we may be foolishly telling the Emperor that he has “new clothes” when his nakedness is there for all to see.
Let us stop fooling ourselves. Some things must be said.
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