…hasn’t sung yet
The US gave the world, “It ain’t over till the fat lady sings” as its own variant of the stiff upper lip British’s “There’s many a slip between the cup and the lip”. Well, with us being in the American Hemisphere and all, it does look like we’ll soon add our own twist: “It ain’t over till the Iron Lady sings!!” After all, with us now in the Guinness Book of Records for the longest running elections in the world without a declaration – way over 100 days – folks are all wondering if it’s finally over with the Iron Lady, Claudette Singh’s instruction to her CEO, Lowenfield to use the recount numbers to prepare his report for the declaration.
But after all we’ve gone through since March 2nd, we should realise that these are just HER wishes about the song she wants to sing – and, as we know to our cost, Lowenfield either has a mind of his own, or is being controlled by his PNC handlers, a la the Manchurian Candidate. Let’s put it this way, after that Caricom report, Lowenfield knows there’s an orange jumpsuit already laid out for him – so it’s quite possible he’ll say, “I might as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb!” And refuse to follow her instructions!!
The point is, Lowenfield’s already given her his report with the numbers from the recount, which passed muster from Caricom. That he made all sorts of recommendations is irrelevant, immaterial and of no consequence. Such interpolations are above his pay grade and the very fact that didn’t even understand both his remit and that of the entire GECOM as opposed to the Courts, shows why he’s a mere “utensil” of the Commission!! Madam Chair should’ve made her declaration then and there at the meeting by just using the figures Lowenfield has tabulated!!
After all, in the GECOM release, she used her judicial background to clearly demarcate the responsibilities of her institution as limited to making a call for which list is the winner by just looking at the numbers. Any other concerns about the validity of those numbers is a matter for an elections petition to the High Court. As it is now, even if Lowenfield does (sullenly) produce a report bereft of his presumptuousness, and the Iron Lady sings from her song sheet, the PNC still has time to run to the Courts for an injunction to stop any swearing in – before she’s finished with the last stanza.
Your (quite jaded) Eyewitness has been around the block – and then some –- with this PNC lot.
And even Madam Chair’s dulcet tones won’t tame those savage beasts!!
…stayed the course
Well, your Eyewitness would be a real hypocrite if he said he hadn’t doubted that Claudette Singh would do the right thing – as Spike Lee had advised back in the day. As he said once, The Iron Lady insisted on following the Solomonic rule literally – always hacking the baby in two – and handing the bigger portion to the PNC. Remember that H2H registration – which Stanley Ming now complained about being bloated after 270,000 names were culled and added on the behest of his PNC!!
But maybe there was a method in her madness. She most likely read through the PNC’s machinations all along –- after all she’s old enough to have experienced the PNC’s paramountcy that extended to flying their flag over the Court of Appeals – and gave them no excuse to now say she wasn’t fair to them.
So, she saved her best for last and your Eyewitness doesn’t give her his customary hat tip – but a round of applause.
The Iron Lady hasn’t rusted as was feared. She’s been forged into steel!!
Stainless steel!!
…and a new GECOM
Even though it’s not all over, your Eyewitness endorses the Caricom Team’s recommendation that GECOM needs a root-and-branch overhaul.
It needs to be reconstituted along the lines of the Indian Elections Commission – totally apolitical.
