Free And Fair Elections:
Bahama Journal Editorial -
Nassau, Bahamas:

All available signs point in a direction that says that The Bahamian people should brace themselves for some of the action that will surely come if Mr. Wayne Munroe and his team are allowed to proceed with filing petitions to proceed with legal action consequent upon certain instructions from the leadership of the Progressive Liberal Party.

As we understand the issue at hand, Munroe and his team are representing the PLP in the case contesting four seats – Sea Breeze, Blue Hills, Golden Isles and Marco City – all of which the governing party secured by fewer than 70 votes.

Mr. Munroe explains, "I think that people should reflect that it is almost a duty on the PLP. If these seats weren’t lost by such close margins, nobody might even be looking, but having looked and seen these irregularities, surely it’s their duty to make sure that it is dealt with. Why pass the law if you don’t expect people to adhere?"

We are absolutely convinced that where there are disputes there are also calls for these to be resolved.

This is precisely where and when we all need to know that there are courts and that they are truly and fully independent.

We have heard it said that the time has come for Bahamians to put the recently held general elections where they rightly belong, namely in the past and therefore consigned to memory.

There have also been other calls for healing and for all and sundry to get on with the business of doing whatever it is they do for a living.

In other words, there are all manner of Bahamians who would like for there to be some kind of return to some kind of normalcy in The Bahamas.

There will be no return to normalcy or anything approximating such a happy state until, and unless the vast majority of Bahamians are satisfied concerning the outcome of the recently held elections.

There has been any number of calls for healing in the aftermath of the elections that were held on Wednesday, May 2, 2007.

What is also implied in some of these calls for healing is that Bahamians should not inquire too deeply to what in fact did go down in the last elections, but that they -- meaning the people -- should just go back to business as it would have been in the days, weeks and months prior to the elections.

There is a sense that those who are calling most loudly for healing have in their ranks people who are fearful concerning what the court challenge might reveal.

We beg to differ.

This nation’s courts are vitally important to the preservation of democracy and freedom in this country and others like it around the world.

As such, they are to be encouraged.

We are in total agreement with all who work and struggle to uphold the independence of the judiciary.

In recent times, relevant commentary has been made on this topic by very many learned ones, among them Dame Joan Sawyer and even more recently, by Attorney Wayne Munroe.

Dame Joan is on record with the observation that the independence of the judiciary is one of the surest guarantees of the right of each and every citizen to get access to the court, and to have their cases tried in a speedy manner.

As she also noted, the Act of Independence of 1701 in England established the independence of the judiciary.

As she explained, prior to the Act judges held tenure at the will of the Crown. She emphasized the "co-operation" between the various branches of government, including the judiciary, is key if justice is to be served.

More to the point concerning the recently held general elections, Mr. Munroe intimates that a part of his current concern relates to allegations to the effect that certain non-Bahamians may have ‘voted’ in the May 2, 2007 elections.

Quite evidently all Bahamians need to know whether this allegation is founded or grounded, or whether it is merely another example of some of the purest fiction and most laughable fantasy.

As Munroe puts it, "Definitely if you are not a Bahamian, you should not vote at all. To me, that is a very serious crime, and people who committed it should be imprisoned and deported from The Bahamas at the end of their prison term."

We second the motion and wait for whatever true and good result emerges from this process. One way or the other, the Bahamian people want and need to know that their elections are free and fair.

12 June 2007