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Politicians could go to prison for giving you free rum, free chicken and free entertainment in an election. Yes. We actually have laws against that in Antigua and Barbuda. But if we're being honest, laws against corrupt practices in elections (or against corrupt practices generally) are just not enforced. Our elections are a carnival of alleged illegality.

Using free food, liquor and entertainment to entice voters is illegal. Giving voters laptops, phones, appliances, cash, and other freebies to entice them is illegal. Giving voters money to surrender their voter's ID cards is also illegal. These are the sort of allegations that surround elections in Antigua and Barbuda. But why did we mention Dominica's Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit? 

Well, he and other members of the ruling Dominica Labour Party (DLP) just lost a case at the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) surrounding whether they have to appear before a magistrate to answer the charge of "treating" during Dominica's 2014 general election in relation to two free concerts before the election. Treating is when you give voters free or subsidized drink, food, or entertainment in order to corruptly influence them to vote. 

The CCJ recently held that Dominica's election law allows for treating to be heard as a summary offense in a magistrate's court, not solely as an issue for election petitions in the High Court. But Dominica's law says someone convicted would be barred from running for a seat, or keeping their seat for seven years. DLP lawyer Anthony Astaphan, who is also a lawyer for the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party (ABLP), is warning of the "risk" to elections across the region in the wake of his CCJ defeat. He says he's even warned Prime Minister Gaston Browne about the implications for Antigua and Barbuda

The warning? Spiteful candidates on either side could use a magistrate's court - as opposed to the High Court via an election petition - to frustrate or nullify the electoral process long after the election. But in this episode, the panelists say the CCJ decision is certainly a good thing. It sends a message that MPs are not above the law, and not above being summoned before a magistrate. It also sends a message to Caribbean politicians that they ought to respect electoral integrity, stop the rum and chicken politics, or risk being thrown out of parliament (and maybe into prison).

The host is Kieron Murdoch. The guests are:

  1. Alex Bruno, political analyst, national of Dominica, and Adjunct Instructor of Political Science at the Palm Beach State College.
  2. Bishop Rolston Jeffrey, the Public Relations Officer of the Free and Fair Elections League in Antigua and Barbuda.
  3. Don Anderson, political analyst, pollster based in Jamaica, and Chairman CEO of Market Research Services (Jamaica).

This programme first aired on NewsCo Observer Radio 91.1 FMon March 21, 2021. Get the latest news from Antigua and Barbuda at the Antigua Observer online