Elections in ‘Shameful’ use of force
the Caribbean
counted.
In Trinidad, which last organized
elections in September of 2015, Prime
Minister Keith Rowley announced this
week that parliament would be dissolved
next month paving the way for
new polls in 90 days. This is the clearest
indication yet that the fourth general
elections in the bloc this year is near.
Belize and St. Vincent are the remaining
two in the regional family in addition
to non bloc member, The Dominican
Republic, also this year.
As observers from the Community
monitor the political happenings in the
two largest member nations, PM Harris
in St. Kitts thinks his administration
has done enough to win a second
term and deny Douglas and his outfit a
return to power after just one five-year
term out in the cold. The SKNLP had
previously run the federation for nearly
30 years.
A total of 48,000 eligible voters are on
the electoral scroll in the larger St. Kitts
while 12,176 are listed as eligible in tiny
Nevis. They will vote at a mere 129 polling
stations.
Harris’s Team Unity coalition holds
seven of the 11 seats in the assembly
but like in Suriname which held its
elections on May 25 in the midst of the
Caribbean L 12 ife, June 5-11, 2020
covid-19 pandemic, traditional methods
of campaigning have been somewhat
affected by lockdown and curfew restrictions.
Suriname whose government had
lifted most restrictions for two days
around May 25 to facilitate voting and
domestic travel for the elections has
been forced to re-impose most of the
protocols after a major spike in infections
in recent days.
An indication as to the importance of
managing elections in the height of the
pandemic, Elections Supervisor Elvin
Bailey said voters will be education as
to how to prevent infection in crowded
situations, noting that “voters will be
required to briefly unmask so that their
identity can be checked. Also, a cleansing
solution will be provided for voters
prior to the immersion in the indelible
ink. We are urging voters to comply
so that the voting process can flow
smoothly and expeditiously,” he said.
Continued from Page 1
and stating that governors and local
officials have “failed to take necessary
action” to curb civil unrest after the
death of George Floyd by a white police
officer in Minneapolis.
The LA Times reported on Monday
that police and National Guard units
fired rubber bullets, flash-bang grenades
and tear gas canisters into peaceful
demonstrators in Lafayette Park,
just north of the White House.
“These are not acts of peaceful protest,”
said Trump during a brief speech
in the White House Rose Garden, alluding
to the demonstrations and sometimes
violent acts that have broken out
in several major cities, including New
York. “These are acts of domestic terror.
”D
uring his speech, Trump said he
is an ally of legitimate protesters; yet,
while he said so, “authorities fired into
peaceful crowds across the street from
the White House and advanced on
horseback, so that Trump could later
walk with a phalanx of Secret Service
agents to St. John’s Episcopal Church,”
according to the LA Times.
It said Trump held up a Bible for the
cameras and posed with Atty. Gen. William
Barr and Defense Secretary Mark
Esper, among others, in front of the
boarded-up building, where a fire had
been set the previous night.
Washington’s mayor characterized
Trump’s use of force as “shameful.”
Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde of the
Episcopal Diocese of Washington also
said she was “outraged” that Trump had
gone to the church “after he threatened
to basically rain down military force.”
Continued from Page 1
Prime Minister of Saint Kitts and
Nevis, Timothy Harris. Associated Press
/ Seth Wenig
Memorial service for George Floyd following his death in Minneapolis police
custody, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S., June 4, 2020.
REUTERS/Lucas Jackson