New political 'group' to be launched ahead of General Election in VI
Speaking to this news site today May 15, 2015, Brathwaite said the announcement of the June 8, 2015 snap elections on May 6, 2015 caught the group of persons unawares and unprepared. He said as a result of the suddenness of the announcement, they will be unable to field a full 13-member slate.
“We were in the process of forming a party when the snap elections were announced and we had not completed the process. So instead of calling it a party we decided to call it an interest group with the aim of developing it into a party,” he said.
However, he said the group is bent on contesting the elections even while being handicapped heavily in terms of numbers.
“We will be introducing ourselves as the coalition group. We have about five candidates right now but only three have been announced so far,” he said, saying that the three are himself, Khoy Smith and Shabazz Hodge (Bro Abdul Shabazz). “I am not at liberty to disclose the other two because they have not yet announced and they have not decided that they want to contest these elections. But we are talking to Independent candidates who have already announced their intentions to contest these elections.”
He said the group almost has a full slate of persons but unfortunately it will not be quite ready for the June 8, 2015 elections.
Brathwaite also said the group is hoping to have a slate of at least seven persons to contest the upcoming elections.
Lack of transparency in Legislature
According to Brathwaite, the group is not happy with the way the country is being run and as such they decided to get on board the "campaign train" and try to move the country forward. “There is a lot of confusion in the legislature. There is a lack of transparency,” he said.
He believes the legislature has been out of control for the last 12 months and this has led to a very unhealthy situation which he believes must be arrested. He is of the view that the Government called the snap elections to hide the reality of the mismanagement of public funds that the Government has been engaged in.
NDP Victimisation
He is also concerned about what he called the ongoing victimisation of persons in the community by the Government for speaking out against them and said that he himself is one such victim.
The man said that the group will be launching formally soon at a date to be disclosed and in a district to be announced. He said too that the group plans to be on the radio over the next weeks getting its word out there to the people of the territory.
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38 Responses to “New political 'group' to be launched ahead of General Election in VI”
There are many "tongue in cheek" political parties around the world that were never intended to be taken seriously but to provide a vehicle for those who did not want to vote for ANY of the parties represented. It is basically a way for voters to voice their frustration and lack of confidence in the candidates.
For instance, in Canada, they have the Rhinoceros Party. Their platform states that the candidates will not keep any of the party's promises if elected. They also have the "Fed Up" party, known as the FU.
In Hungary, they have the Double-tailed Dog Party, the Faroe Islands have the "Funny Party", Sweden has the Donald Duck Party, Russia has the Beer Lovers Party, and so on. The US, UK and Australia each have several such parties. All of them were founded based on their dissatisfaction with the incumbent governments.
These three people know they don't stand a chance of being elected or even of being taken seriously. They do however offer voters who have no confidence in candidates running in their district with an opportunity for the them to voice their dissatisfaction through their votes.
NDP - Orlando Smith
NDP - Ronnie Skelton
NDP - Myron Walwyn
NDP - Archibald Christian
VIP - Irene Penn O'Neal
VIP - Charmaine Rosen Bunbury
VIP - Karl Dawson
VIP - Sharie De Castro
PEP - Alvin Christopher
Total 9
Candidates with as yet unknown districts from the "Coalition Group"
Ishmael E. Brathwaite
Khoy Smith
Bro Abdul Shabazz
2 others who are currently nameless
Total 5
District One
NDP - Shaina Smith
VIP - Andrew Fahie
IND - Preston Stoutt
Total 3
District Two
NDP - Mitch Turnbull
VIP - Rajah Smith
PEP - Elford Parsons
Total 3
District Three
NDP - OJ Smith
VIP Julian Fraser
Total 2
District Four
NDP - Mark Vanterpool
VIP - JoAnne Romney
Total 2
District Five
NDP - Delores Christopher
VIP - Zoe McMillan
Total 2
District Six
NDP - Alvera Maduro-Caines
VIP - Juggy Harrigan
IND - Dion Jennings
Total 3
District Seven
NDP - Kedrick Pickering
VIP - Oleanvine Maynard
Total 2
District Eight
NDP - Marlon Penn
VIP - McLeod Walters
Total 2
District 9
NDP - Hubert O'Neal
VIP - Elton Sprauve
PEP - Faye Reese-Charles
IND - Albert Wheatley
IND - Stepanie Faulkner-Williams
IND - Rawle Hannibal
Total 6
In 2011, 43 candidates vied for position. So far in 2015, it appears there will be 39 candidates and possibly 40 if Conrad Maduro announces for his 12th bid to win a seat. Nobody has said what Natalio Wheatley intends to do. If he declares, that would make 41. So you are quite right SO FAR, and I offer my apologies. However, the list is not yet complete. In my gut, I can feel the winds of change.
I do think there will be another couple of independent candidates announced aside from those already noted above and PEP MAY have one or two candidates to announce in the next few days.
My guess is that (sadly) the NDP will get back in, but with fewer seats. I think there will be at least two pretty big surprises in the districts and one possible surprise for the at large candidates. There are going to be some very close races. Much closer than people think. I don't think the NDP can count on the same kind of blind support they had last time around.
Look around you!
Am I the only afraid to leave my house due to the hazards been cause by disorganized road work?
I have already witnessed two accidents caused because there was nobody directing traffic.
For two years I was forced to listen to my government tell me that my country was broke. For two years! Living here I had to ask myself well then where is all the money going because I did not see any reports saying that there was any decrease in our revenue streams.
Instead I have actually noticed an increase in the revenue due to the increases port fees and just about every government fee you can think of.
Also those said two years were also the most expensive I have ever seen my electricity bill. It was outrageous due to the high fuel charge.
Now today I must drive at my own risk! And who do I turn to? Well nobody because there is no government with a major project going on.
We are victims of bad leadership and are told by our leaders that they do not owe us an answer and yet we find it in our hearts to criticize the few with enough balls to try to make a real change.
OK now go ahead. Scrutinize my words and my grammar and make sure you identify any spelling errors but be sure to note that I have told you.
Don't be so smart that you forget to be wise.
who are for the people after election and for the next four years, not those who only see fit to do things the eve of election. It is an insult to our intelligence. Do not mind the distractions. Maybe they will pay increments the end of this month thinking that will influence votes.
What they goin call this one?