ST. JOHN’S, Antigua – In a national broadcast Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda
Hon. W. Baldwin Spencer talks about the upcoming March 12th Elections.
Fellow Citizens and Residents:
The General Election in Antigua and Barbuda is taking place in a global environment of unprecedented financial turbulence; and universal uncertainty.
As we pursue our varying paths to political office in this election season, it is possible for some to forget that Antigua and Barbuda is connected to, and interdependent with, nations of the world, and the region, where the global financial meltdown is hitting hardest.
An early turnaround in these circumstances appears remote.
The California state government in the USA, with a bigger budget and a bigger economy than most of the nations of the world, is facing bankruptcy.
20,000 government workers in California are on the job loss list.
The failure of Trinidad and Tobago’s far-flung CLICO-CL Financial conglomerate is a piercing wakeup call for our country; as it is for other countries of the Caribbean.
Breaking developments=2 0in the United States involving the Stanford Group have profound serious implications for Antigua and Barbuda.
By no stretch of political partisanship should this be seen as a matter for political exploitation.
This is not a looming crisis.
The fallout threatens catastrophic and immediate consequences.
The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank is in touch with the Bank of Antigua and the government and is currently putting in place a contingency plan. Therefore there is no need for panic.
If ever there was a reaso n, and a time for the Antiguan and Barbudan people to pull together in solidarity, that time is now.
Regrettably, immediately following the news, today, of the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s move against Mr. Allen Stanford and his associates, the ALP candidates on the party’s Hate Radio Station plunged recklessly and foolishly into attempts to make the Stanford matter a partisan political cause.
It is imperative that all political aspirants and activists recognise that continuing excesses at this time can cause untold damage to our country’s threatened economic prospects.
This is quite apart from the wrongs that may be inflicted on victims of political malice such as vandalism, slander, violence and arson.
This current scenario is particularly troubling because arson in a pre-election period is not new to this country.
A few months before the 1999 General Election, Antigua was struck by a series of fires.
The premises of Tim Hector’s Outlet newspaper were torched after the paper reported that the then government had secretly imported a shipment of grenades, launchers, ammunition, pistols, tear-gas guns, gas masks and other riot equipment.
Just days after that, a fire broke out at the Ministry of Finance.
Around the same time, arsonists set fire to a stage erected for a UPP rally.
Two months before the 1999 elections, fire destroyed the prison in St. John’s.
We can take no comfort in any of this.
Precisely because of the disposition to arson that has marked previous elections, the calls from the Antigua Christian Council and the Police High Command for a violence free election are quite timely, and quite important.
It is regrettable that in a statement broadcast on Sunday, the leader of the Opposition party categorically rejected the Christian Council’s call for all election candidates to sign a pledge embodying a code of conduct for the elections.
The UPP candidates have no hesitation in committing to the Christian Council’s Code of Conduct.
I consider it critical that all public figures, and all others who have our country at heart, should readily endorse any initiative that can reduce tensions and disruptions in the election campaign.
In this context, the Government of Antigua & Barbuda has been fortunate in arranging a visit to Antigua this week by the venerable American civil rights activist, Rev. Dr. Joseph Lowery.
Reverend Lowery will take part in a National Interfaith Service at the Precision Centre on Sunday, February 22, at 4:00 p.m.
I invite all to be in the congregation at Sunday’s National Interfaith service.
Coming the month after the memorable benediction he delivered at President Barack Obama’s Inauguration, Dr. Lowery’s visit can propel spiritual upliftment in our country; and foster harmony in our society in this divisive election period.
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Fellow Antiguans and Barbudans and Residents:
It is fitting to recall that the creation of a new register of voters, and the introduction of voter identification cards, came only after the Commonwealth Secretariat’s call for electoral reform after the 1999 General Election.
To pre-empt the use of fear and acts of political malice in the election, and to assist in ensuring the that our General Election will faithfully reflect the will of the Antiguan and Barbudan people, I long ago invited election observer teams from CARICOM, from the Commonwealth Secretariat, and from the Organisation of American States to be early on the ground for the run up to the elections.
Related to this, the Deputy Secretary General of the OAS has already visited Antigua.
I am confident that despite existing tensions, the General Election will proceed peacefully.
I am confident that the Royal Antigua Police Force will protect and serve us better than adequately.
I appeal to all in the society to participate fully and peacefully in the electoral process.
Whatever happens on Election Day, we will all have to live, pray and work together to overcome the daunting challenges facing our beloved country.
The future of our country and the future of generations yet unborn are in our hands.
We have no option but to put aside political differences and to cast aside political extremists.
This is the framework in which we must elect our next government.
In this regard, I have advised Her Excellency, the Governor General, to issue the Writ for a General Election to be held in Antigua and Barbuda on Thursday March 12th 2009.
Nomination Day will be February 25, 2009.
May God guide us.
May God defend Antigua and Barbuda in the face of all adversities.
Hon. PM Balwin Spencer
