Last Updated on November 29, 2019, 3:09 AM AST by Anthony Morris
The “Tenure of Office of Prime Minister (Amendment) Bill and the false news of his arrest in London are part of a diabolical plan of “dirty tricks” to keep Leader of the Opposition, the Right Hon Dr Denzil L Douglas from contesting the next election or becoming the next prime minister of the twin-island federation.
The Dominica Diplomatic Passport cases brought in the High Court against Dr Douglas by Prime Minister Dr the Hon Timothy Harris and his Attorney General, Sen the Hon Vincent Byron Jr and the civil matter by Cuthbert “Big Chief” Mills, represented by the same lawyer who prepared the government case, were also part of the plan to get Dr Douglas disqualified from sitting in the National Assembly.
“It is an old technique. They launch a fake scandal against the man that they fear the most. They fear Dr Douglas. They have been trying for some time now. (His) preferred tactic when it comes to Dr Douglas is to make sure that Dr Douglas cannot run in the election.They would want to make sure he is disqualified, not just from parliament, but that he cannot run in the election. You know why?” asked Douglas Wattley, former chairman of Harris’ People’s Labour Party (PLP) on his weekly radio programme “The Rebuttal.”
Mr Wattley said the people should watch developments within the People’s Action Movement (PAM).
“If they stifen their spine and if PAM says ‘no’ and decides that it will run a candidate in Cayon, whether it is Eugene Hamilton or not, then Timothy (Harris) would have to run against Dr Douglas in St Christopher 6,” he opined.
Wattley is also of the view that if the 2020 elections are held on the boundaries which were earmarked for the 2015 poll, or if Team Unity presents new boundaries, it still would require that Timothy Harris runs against Douglas.”
Wattley cautioned that the St Kitts-Nevis Labour Party must not to be distracted.
“They will try to steal the election from right under your nose. That is when they will try all kinds of hanky-panky and shennanigans in the Electoral Office,” said Wattley.
“None of them can hold a candle of correctness to Dr Douglas,” said Wattley. He pointed out that no court, no legal system, no investigative unit has ever named Dr Douglas in any charge paper, but in the Peter Virdee scandal, “we know who was implicated in there. Somebody, who ask for watch and shoes and two million dollars.”
He said the hands of Dr Douglas are ten times cleaner and better than the Unity boys.
“They are trying hard because they do not want Dr Douglas to stand in the next elections,” said Wattley.
He also said that the proposed term limit legislation to limit the tenure of a prime minister to two terms, “is written in a way to backdate its punishment so that it can target Dr Douglas.”
“The Constitution tells how a prime minister is to be selected. We do not vote for prime ministers. We vote for Members of Parliament and Members of Parliament determine who they wish to have as their prime minister,” said Wattley, who also pointed out that for the Bill to pass “it will require two-thirds (of elected representatives) to change that aspect of the Constitution. They do not have the votes.”
“They know that this legislation will fail, yet they want to do it because they want to say they are doing something,” said Wattley, who is of the view that there are several pieces of legislation that the Harris-led government can pass which can be operationalised and implemented, “yet they are wasting peoples time with the term limit bill which they know will not pass.”
“You are taking our people for granted. The ordinary people on the strret right now is more enlightened than in years past when it comes around politic They are a lot more logical than in the past. They are able to listen and understand when people talk and they know who are trying to BS them and who are not trying.”
On the false report being pedalled against Dr Douglas by operatives of the government and its coalition parties, Mr Wattley said he and hundreds of persons have called England, searched the internet, spoke to friends and families and “nobody can find anything.”
The Tenure of Office of Prime Minister (Amendment) Bill will be debated in the National Assembly today.
Anthony Morris covers stories related to politics and regional developments. His in-depth reporting about governance and reforms makes him stand out in regional journalism, with a deep analysis of political trends and their impact on Caribbean communities.
