Byron would never try this in St. Kitts; He would be history!

                                    Bryron Throwing Dominica over Cliff

Updated

For a Government to be legitimate, it must derive its power from the people it governs -  John Locke, British Philosopher/physician (1690)

The idea of 'consent of the governed' was so powerful that it was adopted by Thomas Jefferson, principal author of the  “American Declaration of Independence” June, 1776. John Locke's principle has also been adopted by other countries around the globe. However, that concept is lost on the Dominica Labor Party (DLP) Administration.  They believe that, because they were 'elected' as a majority Government on one occasion, they have a right to remain in power.  So, this Labor Administration is not really concerned about consent of the “governed”.   They are determined to remain in power and will do 'whatever it takes’ to get a majority vote. They have now solicited the services of a “luminary” in the person of Sir Denis Byron to assist them; this luminary has been interacting with various organizations and individuals in Dominica over the past few months to concoct a legal brew that will justify his salary and satisfy the DLP in their quest to remain in power in Dominica for the next half-century. This means he will find all legal means to remove the 5-year restriction from the electoral laws and find a way for dead voters and illegal voters to remain on the list. Nothing else. Byron is now part of Big Lies and Deception; reputation be damned. 

Before we go further one has to ask why Sir Byron? Is he the only luminary in the Caribbean? What skills does he have that makes it imperative that he is brought to intervene with Dominica's electoral process at this time? Why hasn't DLP embraced the recommendations of numerous International Elections Observers from the OAS, Commonwealth Secretariat and Local Stakeholders? Well, we need to know that Sir Byron and Skerrit go back a long way. Byron owes Skerrit.

Byron would never try this in St. Kitts! But, in Dominica, he believes that the people will accept anything. In St. Kitts, persons who have bought their citizenship cannot vote! Period. Secondly, St. Kitts has tightened the Residency Requirement for voting. On hand, DLP wants to take Dominica in the opposite direction. And, Byron, who cannot convince his Brother (Vincent Byron, AG of St. Kitts and Nevis) to brew this 'commess', figures that for half-million dollars for a 4-5 months work, he can make a quick Buck, satisfy DLP's lust for perpetual political power and maybe gain some additional financial assurances down the road.

Democracy under Assault

Dominica is a supposed to be a democracy which functions under a parliamentary system.  Under this system there are few checks and balances.  This means that elections become the only avenue for the people to decide who they want to govern the country. Therefore, when this process is circumvented by unscrupulous leaders, Democracy is severely eroded. In the case of Dominica, the current administration is set to change the Electoral laws to make it easier for them to transport as many voters from outside the country as they deem necessary to achieve electoral victory.  They also wish to give voting right to the tens of thousand who have bought Dominican citizenship. Just imagine, you are living in a country, and outsiders get to pick who will govern you for 5 years. This is what the people of Dominica have been facing for several years and DLP is now willing to up the anti. This is illegal and violates the countries existing laws;  now, the perpetrators want to codify this practice into law and Byron who seems to have lost his marbles is serving as the hit-man.

It is evident that the Labor Administration does not abide by the rules. They are prepared violate the laws and constitution of Dominica to maintain their clutch on power. No one knows why this administration is fighting so hard to remain in power. But, they are constantly accusing Opposition Parties of lust for Power!!   By the next election they would have been in power for 25 years. One would think that they would be able to say that they are satisfied of having performed for the Dominican people and move on. Instead, the current Administration seem  panicked about being out of office. Are they scared that they will lose all the money and privileges that they now enjoy and they might even have to work for living like everyone else? The proposed changes to Electoral Act must not be allowed to go forward. Under existing law, Dominica's Electoral Commission has the power to create voter ID Cards for electors in Dominica.

 
What Remedies are available to Voters?

Under the Act, any change of address should be communicated to the Electoral office by the voter.  The Electoral Office is obliged to publish changes and communicate with voters at most recent address. The Labor Administration, aided by Byron and their un-elected gang of 'rogue Lawyers' including AG Levi Peters, should stop trying to introduce laws that could dismantle the Constitution, wrest power away from electors and transform their current illegal actions into destructive routine activities.

The remedies available to voters are limited but powerful. According to John Locke, ”government exist to protect the people’s natural rights, life, liberty and property". If government fail to do so, then the people are left with no choice except to exercise their rights to get them out by any means possible. Now, there is one more enemy of the state to tackle ...  He should not be allowed to throw Dominica and its constitution over a cliff and, as a hired hit-man, walk away with half million dollars of Dominica's money in the process.