BYE BYE ELECTIONS

21 November 2021

With less than a week to go before the 7 by elections are held, it is hard to get too excited about this event.

So much has been written, spoken, challenged, disputed and heard about the April general elections and the ensuing fall out, we are all in a state of electoral and constitutional overload.

You cannot feel any sympathy for those candidates which were found to have committed bribery and/or treating in their attempt to get elected. Nor can we feel much for those who decided not to pursue or to defend an electoral challenge knowing their career and/or reputation might be totally shattered.

However, we do feel for the voters and families in the 7 constituencies who remain unrepresented in parliament. While the rest if the country has moved on with a new government, they have been left in an electoral time warp. It is a situation created by hopeful politicians using unlawful measures to get into power. Their actions have created the need for these by elections.

The outcome of the by elections has the potential to change the make up of the parliament. It is likely too that whatever the outcome even more Court challenges will inevitably follow. We hopeful that whatever the outcome, it is clear, clean, decisive and timely.

This time last year there was already chatter about the forthcoming elections. 12 months later the full parliament has yet to sit. Not only that but some serious charges against current and former politicians remain outstanding. All of this further unsettles the country and the economy in a time when we need stability and good governance.

We pray for a safe and proper by elections. I pray for a decisive outcome. I pray for safety and stability.