…continues
One of the ‘letter writers in residence’ for the Government — he’s also part of the AG’s “advisory team”– practically filled a whole page in the Chronic protesting that the Head of the Dept of Political Science at UWI, St Augustine, “got it all wrong” when he said the PNC-led Government seems to be deathly scared of facing the electorate!
“Not so!” said the ex-magistrate is his usual otiose and prolix fashion, quoting the Bard about “judgement fleeing to beastly breasts”, and all that!
Well, methinks the fella doth protest too much!! But, then, he has to sing for his supper!!
Why else would the PNC/AFC combine subject themselves to the ridicule of the rest of the legal fraternity — not only in the Caribbean, but in the entire Commonwealth, who follow common law precedents — by arguing that 33 isn’t the majority of 65?? They have enough lawyers in their ranks — and your Eyewitness isn’t even THINKING about Basil Williams! — to know they had more chances of a snowball surviving in hell that having the CCJ rule in their favour!
The two local Justices who fell on their legal swords for the PNC might be willing to sacrifice their reputations “for the cause”, but don’t expect the CCJ lords to follow suit. They have their legacies to think of as they pine to be the Denning from the sticks! But from the demeanour and tone of the CCJ’s questions, the PNC already know what lies ahead from that quarter — the NCM’s gonna be affirmed, and elections will be ordered.
And that’s why they’ve kicked in Plan B: To wit, let Patterson, GECOM and the PNC Commissioners, as handmaidens, delay the elections as long as possible. And that’s what’s playing out with the hoopla about “funding the elections” through a supplementary paper.
As the PPP’s masterful lawyers have demonstrated, GECOM already had enough money assigned to them to run the elections, but it’s the Granger posse who’d arbitrarily decided on ordering a new “house-to-house” registration.
And now that the legal advisor to GECOM — no PPP flunkey — had the guts to agree that the voters’ list just had to be “revised”, the PNC have been caught with their pants down. And THAT ain’t pretty; it was as ugly as the reaction of Desmond Trotman to the professionalism of the legal adviser!!
But trust the PNC to come up with some other barefaced ploy to drag out elections. After all, these people have post-graduate degrees in rigging elections with the experience culled between 1968 and 1992!! We mightn’t know PRECISELY what they’ll attempt, but it’s clear they have a card up their sleeves, and they need some more time to play it.
That’s what it’s all about, Alfie!!
…at UG too!!
The VC of UG wasn’t only a card-carrying member of PNC back in the day, like Granger. He’d passed through the youth arm – the YSM – and was even its head. And back in those days, the 1970s, the YSM was an integral cog in the PNC’s rigging machinery. Remember how many underage youths voted for the cause?? So it’s not surprising that the bow-tied gentleman has been putting his thumb on the scale in his bid to be returned as VC for another term.
The accusation came from no other quarter than the OFFICAL UG Alumni Association (UGAA), which pointed out that the “UG Association of Alumni and Friends” (UGAFOUG) is in no way, shape or form affiliated with the UGAA. The latter has been approved by the UG Council, and has a representative in that body.
They pointed out that “AFOUG is a private entity set up in NY by the VC’s allies for the purpose of his projects.”
This explains those glowing testimonials to the VC in the press!! Cronyism??
…and servicing ‘redeployed” Ministers?
Did you see the ad from the Ministry of the Presidency for 5 new SUVs?? But weren’t there only FOUR Ministers “redeployed”?
Who’s the extra vehicle for?? And do they all get outriders??
