By Anna Ramdass
May 18, 2023 – trinidadexpress.com
The people of Trinidad and Tobago have a right to vote.
This was the loud and clear message from the Privy Council law Lords who delivered judgement against the Government’s decision to postpone the Local Government Elections and extend the life of councils for one year.
Former Attorney General Anand Ramlogan secured victory at the Privy Council after being defeated at Trinidad and Tobago’s High Court and Court of Appeal after he challenged, on behalf of his client Ravi Balgobin-Maharaj,the extension of Local Government officials’ tenure from December 2, 2022 forone year following the proclamation of sections of The Miscellaneous Provisions (Local Government Reform) Act,2022.
The Privy Council Law Lords – Lord Reed, Lord Hodge, Lord Briggs, Lord Kitchin and Lord Richards heard the case on March 15, 2023 and judgement was delivered on Thursday at 8.30 a.m.
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In the US there are dates set aside for voting. There are no ambiguity in terms of someone practicing their adult franchise. Banana republic leaders need to be rebuked because they operate according to the obeah or seerman who give them the dates. It is a powerful rebuke to the Keith Christopher Rowley regime and a major victory for democracy and by extension the will of the people. As one PM used to say I have the date in my back pocket.
Congratulations to human rights activist Ravi Balgobin for standing up for ordinary citizens and those without a voice. And it goes without saying another well deserved victory for Anand Ramlogan and his team of lawyers. May the republic be speared the decay of another misalign and disrespectful embarrassment on the international scene by firing the current AG. He is too expensive to maintain. $21 million to criminals in the Naipaul case and $800,000 for a judge to investigate and find a so called “missing file”. And the airport debacle in a Miami courtroom. His sins are too many for the nation to bear.
Hinds was correct. There are influences on the Judiciary. The worst of which is political influence.
This is a classic example. PNM politically influenced judges at the highest level gave a decision with the intention of pleasing the existing political directorate.
Fortunately, the objectivity of the Privy Council prevailed.
The country is saddled with a Chief Justice, a Chief of Police, a President, and a number of people in charge of Government organizations and departments who all belong to the PNM Cult.
And sadly, most of these actors have limited intellectual capabilities often on display.
The right to chose the person to lead you is a sacred right. It has nothing to do with politics but rather all to do individual freedom of choice. Everyday we use the power of choice to live this life. If you can’t choose people who you believe would do right for you and the nation then we have fallen into the crack of dictatorship.
A leader brings to the fore a desire for a better society, a better nation. If that leader is not working for you, they are working against you. They are using their power to systematically undermine and deprive you of the national good. The Constitution states Whereas the People of Trinidad and Tobago-
a. have affirmed that the Nation of Trinidad and Tobago is founded upon principles that acknowledge the supremacy of God, faith in fundamental human rights and freedoms, the position of the family in a society of free men and free institutions, the dignity of the human person and the equal and inalienable rights with which all members of the human family are endowed by their Creator;
b. respect the principles of social justice and therefore believe that the operation of the economic system should result in the material resources of the community being so distributed as to subserve the common good, that there should be adequate means of livelihood for all, that labour should not be exploited or forced by economic necessity to operate in inhumane conditions by that there should be an opportunity for advancement on the basis of recongnition of merit, ability and integrity;
c. have asserted their belief in a democratic society in which all persons may, to the extent of their capacity, play some part in the institutions of the national life and thus develop and maintain due respect for lawfully constituted authority;
d. recognise that men and institutions remain free only when freedom is founded upon respect for moral and spiritual values and the rule of law;
e. desire that their Constitution should enshrine the above mentioned principles and beliefs and make provision for ensuring the protection in Trinidad and Tobago of fundamental human rights and freedoms
These tenets of nationhood need to be taught in school under national governance. Without those freedom to chose we are not a nation but rather a house of slaves.