Nearly five years into their term, there are several broken promises and many outright lies told us by the AUF administration. We can call them out on several – ITS ALL ABOUT YOU – We will abolish the Interim Stabilisation Levy – We will save the banks – We will implement a minimum wage – We will not raise taxes.
The Premier may maintain that Hurricane Irma delayed the implementation of the AUF Administration’s plans and promises. That rhetoric is disingenuous, to use his favourite word. When we analyse the new Elections Act 2019, we can confirm that Irma has certainly not dissuaded the AUF from their legacy of lies, manipulation and the betrayal of our people. It is perhaps the most insidious of the lies they have uttered to date. While the reforms may appear innocuous on a first reading, I believe that the passage and enactment of the Elections Act 2019 will go down in history as the biggest stain thus far on democracy in Anguilla.
As you will know and recall, the arguments that I have made in relation to the constitutional and electoral reform process have been consistent and sound; these issues have been raised in the House of Assembly, in the newspapers, on Radio Anguilla and other media outlets, as well as on my Facebook Page, for all to see and assess for themselves:
• The Constitutional and Electoral Reform Committee held extensive consultations with the people and compiled comprehensive reforms in their 2017 report.
• The implementation of these comprehensive reforms must be conducted in a holistic way to ensure that the purpose for which they were recommended is properly realized.
• The piecemeal approach undertaken by the AUF was a deliberate action to manipulate the process by selecting specific reforms which would most benefit their bid for re-election, under the guise of public support, and implementing those reforms selectively, to the exclusion of other reforms which are meant to holistically strengthen our electoral system proper.
• The passing and assent of the Elections Act 2019 is a betrayal of citizenship participation, because it excludes several important and comprehensive reforms that would satisfy the requirements of genuine elections which are constitutionally due in 2020.
• The Elections Act 2019 is unconstitutional.
At the last sitting of the House of Assembly, I asked the following question to The Hon. Victor Banks, the Premier and Leader of Government Business:
“Will the Hon. Premier please indicate to this Honourable House under what provisions the general elections in Anguilla can be extended to June 2020?”
This question was asked based on the statements made by the Premier at the previous sitting of the House, where he mentioned on several occasions that the elections which are constitutionally due in April 2020 can be extended to June 2020.
The Hon. Premier, in his response to the question, referred me to sections 63 and 64 of the Anguilla Constitution 1982, which reads as follows:
Prorogation and dissolution
63.—(1) The Governor, acting in accordance with the advice of the Chief Minister, may at any time, by Proclamation published in the Official Gazette, prorogue the Assembly.
(2) The Governor, acting after consultation with the Chief Minister, may at any time, by Proclamation published in the Official Gazette, dissolve the Assembly.
(3) The Governor shall dissolve the Assembly at the expiration of five years from the date when the Assembly first meets after any general election unless it has been sooner dissolved.
General elections
64. There shall be a general election at such time within two months after every dissolution of the Assembly as the Governor shall by Proclamation appoint.
It was at this juncture that I reminded the Premier that the people in the constitutional and electoral reform process asked for fixed date elections. I also inquired as to whether or not the AUF government made any changes in relation to the fixed date provision proposed by the people on page 152 of the Constitutional and Electoral Reform Committee’s Report (2017).
I then asked additional supplementary questions to determine whether or not the Premier was going to rely on the fixed date provision in the newly passed Elections Act 2019; or whether or not he intends to reconcile this with what obtains under the Constitution 1982 which he cited in his response. It was quite clear that the Premier was not able to properly answer to the people of this country on these matters, which further lends to my firm belief that the AUF, through this entire process, continues to be disingenuous and is routinely aiming to pull the wool over our eyes.
The time has come for the people of Anguilla to be enlightened and look carefully at the position we now find ourselves in because of the manipulative actions of the AUF in this regard:
What did the people ask for?
The people of Anguilla, through the Constitutional and Electoral Reform Committee, called for Fixed Date Elections. On Page 152 of the Committee Report completed in March 2017, they outlined this reform in the following way:
“PART VI – ARRANGEMENTS FOR ELECTIONS
Fixed date for general elections
43. (1) Polling day for the next general election after the passing of this Act will be the first Monday after the 5th anniversary of the last general election.
(2) The polling day for each subsequent general election is to be the first Monday after the 5th anniversary of the previous general election.
(3) The Governor acting on the advice of the Chief Minister may by order made by statutory instrument provide that the polling day for a general election in a specified calendar year is to be later than the day determined under subsections (1) or (2), but not more than two months later.
(4) A statutory instrument containing an order under subsection (3) shall not be made unless a draft has been laid before and approved by a resolution of the House of Assembly.
(5) The draft laid before the House of Assembly containing an order under subsection (3) must be accompanied by a statement setting out the Chief Minister’s reasons for proposing the change in the polling day.
Early general elections
44. (1) An early general election is to take place if the House of Assembly passes a motion of no confidence in the government.
(2) If a general election is to take place as provided for by subsection (1), the polling day for the election will be the day appointed by the Governor being not later than two months after the date of the passage of the motion.”
The Minister of Home Affairs, the Member for Sandy Hill, a lawyer by profession, referred to the people’s desire for fixed date elections. She suggested that the AUF Administration recognised the people’s aspirations and had acquiesced in that wish.
To summarize, the people asked for Fixed Date Elections which would be held on the first Monday after the 5th anniversary of the previous election, noting carefully that it must be held on this date or no later than 2 months after this date. There was also a provision made for elections to be called earlier than this fixed date under the following circumstance: if there is a motion of no confidence which passes by two thirds majority of the elected members in the House of Assembly.
What did the AUF put in the new Elections Act 2019?
“PART 5 – ARRANGEMENT FOR ELECTIONS
Fixed date for general elections
34. (1) Polling day for the next general election after the passing of this Act will be the first Monday after the 5th anniversary of the last general election.
(2) The polling day for each subsequent general election is to be the first Monday after the 5th anniversary of the previous general election.
(3) The Governor, acting on the advice of the Premier, may by Proclamation provide that the polling day for a general election in a specified calendar year is to be earlier or later than the day determined under subsections (1) or (2), but not more than 2 months earlier or 2 months later.”
Early general elections
35. (1) If a motion that the Assembly should declare a lack of confidence in the Government of Anguilla receives in the Assembly the affirmative votes of 2/3 of all the elected members, the Governor shall dissolve the Assembly and shall act in his discretion in appointing the date for the ensuing general election under section 64 of the Constitution.”
Can you spot the difference? Under the new Elections Act 2019, it gives the Premier the power to call the general elections up to 2 months earlier or later than the fixed date and does not require this to be done by any resolution in the House of Assembly where he/she would have to provide reason for doing so in writing.
To compound this further, the Premier in his answers to my questions continued to revert back to the Anguilla Constitution 1982, which gives him the power to dissolve the House of Assembly at any time through advice to the Governor, following which a general election must be called within 2 months. While such a provision was envisioned to be in the interest of public safety or where there is a state of unrest, it still allows the Premier to retain significant powers to dissolve the House of Assembly at any time. It is this power our People desire to be rid of.
In his failure to clearly understand the major folly of his administration, the Premier pointed out that the UK has a fixed date elections provision but has still called early elections. This is true; however, what the Premier failed to tell the people was that under the Fixed Term Parliament Act 2011 in the United Kingdom, early elections (before the fixed date set for polling day) can only be called under two circumstances:
1. If a motion for early elections passes by 2/3 majority of the House of Commons and
2. If a vote of no confidence in the government is successful.
Where these two conditions are satisfied, there is a specific minimum time frame allocated in which the parliament is dissolved, and polling day is set.
I urge you to look at the following documents for yourself:
1. The Constitutional and Electoral Reform Committee’s Report 2017 page 152. http://www.gov.ai/documents/anguilla_constitutional_electoral_reform.pdf
2. The Elections Act 2019 – Section 34 and 35. http://www.gov.ai/documents/electoraloffice/Bill%20for%20Elections%20Act%202019%20Final%20for%20Ministry%20July%2012%202019.pdf
3. The Anguilla Constitution 1982 – Section 63 and 64. http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1982/334/made
The question now lingers in the minds of Anguillians: What is the point of including a so-called fixed date for elections in the new Elections Act 2019, when Sections 63 and 64 of the Anguilla Constitution 1982, for all practical purposes, voids this completely?
Is the AUF so incompetent that they did not see the misalignment between the Elections Act 2019, which is now signed into ordinary law, and the Constitution which is the highest law of the land? This is quite clear, since the Order in Council to amend the constitution did not include changes to section 63 and 64 of the Constitution, which address the timing of elections.
Anguillians beware. Your democracy and your rights are under serious threat. I urge you to reflect seriously on all that has transpired. Let’s test these lies in the coming months. I will continue to bring these issues to the fore and these lies to light, because it is the right thing to do.
God bless you.
