CHRISTOPHER GILL’S CORNER

CHRISTOPHER GILL’S CORNER

ELECTIONS AT ALL COST

The SPPF want an early election at all cost. This is quite obvious to any person following the day to day dancing and prancing of the Commissioner of Elections on SBC. As he waltzes his way through the date of the Elections, skipping about, only to fall on the exact date the SPPF wanted in the first place. A good actor he is not, in my opinion. As he sweats through his scripts, he is likely, rest assured of his post, if he can animate effectively through the Elections of 2007. For the Opposition, this is not a time to remain silent, as the theatrical political plot unveils itself to the People of Seychelles.

The election date of course, would likely have been assured by a short visit of Mr. Rene who drives himself, unlike his Ministers who prefer to be driven, reclined in the back seat, before their time, to the Election Commissioners’ Office in the afternoon of the announcement date, on SBC.

Mrs. Potter, a Central Committee member of the SPPF, has brought to us the underlying SPPF psychological game plan: treat the Opposition as an abused, battered wife (Battered Wife Syndrome). As they complain about something, beat them into submission, then say, “see, it is your fault, I beat you...don’t do it again”. Mrs. Potter calls up anything in the past, even if it is irrelevant, to blame the Opposition for everything, in order to hide SPPF impotence at solving the economic crisis they have brought upon the Seychelles.

At all times, the SPPF make like a Husband with HIV in denial, saying, “there is no problem... we do not need to talk about it”. The SPPF want to show the Opposition as not being capable partners....then it beats them again and again into submission. Like a battered wife being blamed for a violent husband's failures, the SPPF want the Opposition to believe, if Seychelles economy has failed today, it is because of the Opposition’s failings. This, of course, is not true and unlike the bad husband, the SPPF has no right to choose its wife in our democracy.

DP’s Challenges of Electoral Commissioner Election Date

Once the President dissolves the National Assembly, elections must be called within Thirty (30) days. The logic is quite simple. Mr. Chow and Mr. Elizabeth should be commended for their courage to bring this Case forward and should be given due credit for highlighting the obvious when the Election Commissioner sided on “Seeing No Evil”. Whether they win or loose is unlikely to ever reflect on the value of the issue before it.

The Judges, of course, have an opportunity to test their metal. The Public, of course, will be watching to see how the Judges interpret the terms of the Constitution of Seychelles which is a “Strict Constructionist” document (legal term which means you must not add meaning or speculate what the Drafters intended; a Judge must simply enforce the words of the Constitution as it is written and Election in 30 days means Election in 30 days).

Once an Assembly has been dissolved, the Country no longer has a Legislative Branch of Government. In effect we are a Defacto One Party State again, until we have a new National Assembly. That is why elections must be expeditious. The Commissioner of Elections cannot waltz around for a third of a year talking about Elections. He must do it.

Placing old speeches of the former Leader of The Opposition on the Nation Website does not make the country democratic or a functioning democracy in fact, in spite of some Embassies and visiting Ministers about to be bounced in their own country, choosing to “Hear No Evil, See No Evil, Speak No Evil” of the SPPF effort to curtail our democratic rights, in exchange for some fishing rights and tuna loins, to help caste off their earned title of, “The Sick Man of Europe”. Any hints which Country that may be?

The Lie of National Scale

The “Year 2017” will be nothing like Mr. President says it will be. Just like the “Year 2000” was nothing they said it would be. Just like “Aspiration 2013” is already nothing like what they said it would be. These programs initiate themselves as Power Point Presentations (PPP) to about 100 people, then the Power Point is culminated into a 20- 40 page booklet with a little splash of color here and there; then SBC catches a hold of the Power Point and dishes it out to the public in a one (1) hour presentation with added interviews of different people from different sectors, who could very likely be paid to read a script or perhaps, a few may just be hoping the SPPF will succeed in spite of itself. Hope No More!

The SPPF then take all of that and toss it into their Political Party Broadcast (PPB). Then, Viola! Puff!! Wham! Bham!! You have an Election Result, in spite of a very bad deteriorating economy where Seychellois receive only a “Virtual Medal of Valor” for combating the difficulties they face everyday, in one line of Mr. President’s State of The Nation Address, which is not subjected to any rebuttal by the Leader of The Opposition.

The real State of the Nation is never presented to the public and they are in fact asked to make a decision on it, through a vote. How much we owe, how we are going to pay it all, we have not been told. How the SPPF are going to implement the 15 year promise of reducing the cost of living for all Seychellois is a question that has been tucked nicely under the caves of Morne Seychellois, not to be disturbed for the sake of SPPF posterity. But SPPF posterity cannot be at the cost of a better life for the People of Seychelles. How we all get along as a People is ignored by Mr. President, “of all Seychellois”! How much progress we have made from moving from Bad Governance towards Good Governance, Mr. President has ignored.

Fast Track The Opposition

The suggestion of assisting the SNP with a “Fast Track System” to remove it’s container of campaign materials gave us a little clarity of how some people in SPPF have access to the “fast track” clearance at the Port, but others do not. Now, for some reason, it is convenient to fast track the SNP election container. Right! This falls in line with the SPPF Rule of Preferential Treatment when,of course, it is convenient to their immediate pressing interests. Whenever the SPPF want to help you and fast track you, remember the old adage, beware of kind, gentle, Stalkers who want to be your friend!

Michel Takes Us On A Dream Ride

No sooner that I had penned comments for the Seychelles Review two weeks ago, wherein I remarked that the SPPF will opt to take us on a dream-like ride, with Power Point Presentations (PPP another SPPF Election tool) showing us how Seychelles will be in Ten (10) years or so, in order to get us to forget how bad it is today, did Mr. President,mobilize State resources to summons every business person and every high Government official whose e-mail and phone number he could get, to appear before his fake statistics and light props at the International Conference Center to be forcibly fed the mumbo-jumbo and commence the dream-like ride he will now take us on over the next 50 or so days.

Just the amount of Army soldiers with AK-47’s in olive garb outside the Conference Center and the amount of Personal Body Guards (PBG) present watching all the BMW’s and Mercedes Benz bought with People of Seychelles funds, when a Honda ,Kia , or Hyundai would have done the job without the financial burden, at the launching of this new Dream Show, would leave anyone with the distinctive impression that a lie on a national scale was about to be imprinted on the minds of the People of Seychelles.