Caribbean News
Saturday, December 13, 2014
United Workers Party (UWP) candidate for the Grand Fond constituency in Dominica, Dr Thomson Fontaine has called for a full investigation of why valid ballots cast in his favour in the December 8 national elections were rejected by a returning officer for reasons outside of the electoral laws.
Fontaine said on Tuesday, when the votes cast in his constituency were recounted, he witnessed returning officer Gwyneth Anselm and attorney-at-law Lennox Lawrence attempting to deny him votes that he considers rightfully his.
He accused Anselm of rejecting the ballots on Lawrence’s instructions, despite the fact that UWP representatives presented copies of relevant electoral laws that clearly validated the votes.
The UWP candidate also contended that the rejection of valid votes cast for him came on the heels of massive bribery of electors in Grand Fond up to the day before elections, in addition to the fact that 42 persons who allegedly received bribes and were brought from overseas by the Dominica Labour Party (DLP), voted against him.
Fontaine claimed that Lawrence, at one point, turned his attention to the pool of votes already counted for Morne Jaune (in the Grand Fond constituency) and challenged the validity of seven votes and the returning officer meekly obeyed and rejected the votes.
“I’ve never seen anything like this in my life,” Fontaine said.
He pointed out that, despite the fact that the electoral laws make no provisions for the thickness of marks or the straightness of lines, in cases where voters' intentions on the ballot slips were clear, the returning officer rejected their marks because the ‘X’ was too thick, and also rejected cases where the voters’ hands were shaky, even though the lines and voters' choice were clear.
Fontaine questioned why said 13 legitimate votes cast in his favour in his stronghold, River Cyrique, were rejected for frivolous reasons on the night of the preliminary count. A proper counting of these votes on election night would have given him victory over his opponent.
And while he was able to get back ten of these votes at the recount, the returning officer insisted on rejecting the other three for no valid reason.
Giving other instances of unfair vote rejection, Fontaine said in one case a voter drew a little saw on the ballot paper and put a clear ‘X’ near the UWP candidate's name. The returning officer rejected that ballot, but accepted one for the DLP contestant where a voter drew a line at the front of the ‘X’.
In another case, the returning officer wanted to reject a ballot where a voter put an 'X' on the saw and Fontaine said he had to pressure her to consult with the Electoral Office to resolve the issue.
In light of these actions, Fontaine said, he believes that theft of legitimate votes was an alternative plan for the DLP to steal his seat if the widespread bribery of voters together with the importation of illegal voters failed.
He went on to recommend that when there is a close race, determining the validity of disputed votes should not be put in the hands of local authorities, but should be decided on by credible independent persons.
Fontaine also maintained that the count at Grand Fond was not sealed on Monday night at the conclusion of the recount because the UWP rightfully did not accept the tainted tally and refused to sign any acceptance of the count.
Meanwhile, leader of the UWP Lennox Linton has said his party is considering its options in the wake of the December 8 elections, which he declared to be stolen.
Linton, who spoke on local radio on Wednesday morning, promised that the UWP will make an appropriate decision on the way forward.
The UWP won six of the 21 seats in Parliament in the December 8 general elections, following alleged widespread bribery and other electoral irregularities in addition to an reportedly lavish $30 million campaign conducted by the DLP.
Explaining that the UWP has to be careful in determining its follow-up actions to the election, Linton promised a disciplined, methodical approach toward finding the right solutions.
He revealed that his party is in discussion with its lawyers to determine the feasibility of filing relevant petitions.
While the party is aware of certain misdemeanours, it must be able to build a compelling case of bribery and illegal interference for the court, he explained.
The UWP has 21 days from the date of the election to file a petition.
Meanwhile, those who wish to show their dissatisfaction at the unfair results are free to go to the streets to do so, he said.
Pointing to irregularities in the December 8 general elections, Linton also referred to DLP’s bribery of the electorate, funded by the public purse.
He remarked on the fact that construction materials were being distributed around the island up to the morning of the elections in Bataca. He also noted that there were reports of envelopes being distributed on the morning of elections in the vicinity of polling stations.
Linton spoke of overseas voters who were brought to Dominica illegally to vote for the DLP and who heavily weighed the election results in favour of that party.
The UWP leader said the electoral process allowed for fraudulent election manipulation. Further, he said the party can identify at least six seats where the impact of overseas votes, bribery, and fraudulent manipulation of voter qualification ensured victory for the DLP.
Linton noted that the UWP was always concerned about the Electoral Office’s lack of action with regard to cleaning up the voters lists and providing voter identification cards. He considers it odd that the Commission did absolutely nothing in this regard, despite strong advocacy.
The UWP will continue its advocacy in this regard and expects the prime minister to give clearly defined commitments, which include a timeline, for electoral reform. Linton promised that the UWP will make this an important item on its parliamentary representation agenda.
It is not clear whether the funds used in the campaign will be declared to the Integrity in Public Office Commission, as required by law.
