FROM THE SUBLIME TO THE RIDICULOUS
We have all become second class citizens in our own country
If proof is needed that under President Michel, the ordinary citizen of Seychelles has lost all sovereignty, it is found in the demarche of the Electoral Commissioner Mr Hendrix to organise the snap election for the National Assembly. It is also proof, if proof is needed, that Mr Gappy does not possess common sense or would like to take us for fools.
In a letter sent to all registered political parties on 27 March, Mr Gappy informed them that a printer in Singapore has virtually dictated to him when elections should be held – even though he has claimed he had 90 days in which to organise it. Mr Gappy was making allusion to the request by DP and SNP to have the dates of the elections move by one week, which would have meant elections would be held in just about two months of the dissolution of the Assembly. One of the reasons Mr Gappy gave for not being able to oblige was that a commercial printer in Singapore which he has chosen freely, cannot print the ballot papers any other time.
So now the sovereign right of the people of Seychelles is held hostage by a commercial printer in another country. Of course, Seychelles is probably the only country that doesn’t have a government printer. The last one was “privatised” to the ruling party some years ago. It now appears too that Singapore is the only place in the world where there are commercial printers capable of printing the ballot papers. Places such as South Africa, UK or France where there are not only more printing firms than Singapore, but also more schedule flights with Seychelles, cannot be considered.
And it doesn’t stop there. Mr Gappy in his letter wants everyone to swallow his childish but silly line that we, the people of Seychelles, cannot even exercise our fundamental right to choose our representative when our children are at school, because it will inconvenience the schools. Yet when Mr Michel wanted to celebrate his victory after the presidential election last year he gave not only a school holiday, but also a national holiday. So now Mr Gappy wants us to believe that it is alright to inconvenience the schools to celebrate SPPF victories but not to hold elections once every five years.
And the stupidity doesn’t stop there either. Mr Gappy also offered his services to the political parties as a customs clearance facilitator (no he is not the official government’s clearing agent) to clear all their election paraphernalia they may want to import faster.
What a sad reflection of the mental aptitude of the Electoral Commission. Sycophancy, it appears, is his strongest suit.
