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| New direction |
On June 6, 2016, Choiseul voted to change what
passed over four and a half years for a semblance of parliamentary
representation of its people. Some will say it was long overdue, while others
on the other side of the divide will consider it a bad choice. Whatever it is –
the people have spoken. For those that supported the losing side Dr. Steve
Maraboli puts it nicely. “Be open enough to see opportunities. Be wise enough
to be grateful. Be courageous enough to be happy.”
There appeared to have been a national
dissatisfaction with the SLP – not with the candidates per se, but rather with Dr
Kenny Anthony, the leader of SLP. A case in point – Webby, if I have it correct
swung over to the UWP side this last election. Not because he does not like
Lorne (they are relatives) but rather his dislike, to put it lightly, for Kenny
Anthony, This was the mood expressed throughout the country. It even reflected
in his constituency as well where the margin of his victory was minimal.
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| Lorne Theophilus |
Lorne, the past parliamentarian gradually became unpopular
with a number of his core supporters and this itself filtered down to the
constituents. This was coupled with his irregular visits to the various
constituencies. After handing Rufus his fair share of sticks during the 2006
campaign – ti canal, footpaths etc, Lorne went into the same infrastructural malaise
which he so vociferously criticized Rufus for.
Lorne got it all wrong with his management style.
I am not an expert on managerial skills but I sure can see when one is not
working. Any candidate who has won in Polling Division I5, have always over the
last elections won below 40. This time around a new comer Bradly Felix whooped
Lorne Theophilus, the incumbent by 124 votes. Do you know why? Simple, his
bluffs, his unkept promises, his 5 visits out of 1676 days of his tenure, and
there was that notion he was only fighting for his political pension, was too
much for the people to support him anymore.
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| Choiseul-Saltibus General Election results 2016 |
With reference to the figure on the left you will notice
that about 60.03% or 5321 of 8864 of the registered voters turned out to vote the
third largest turn out with Anse la Raye and Soufriere having turnouts of 60.91
and 60.59% respectively. Bradley secured 58.3% or 2995 while lorne captures 41.7%
or 2143 of the votes cast. A comfortable lead of 852. There were 183 rejected votes. But in an earlier call to
the electoral office as I started analyzing the statistics revealed as you will
see at the bottom of the figure that 96% or 24 of the 25 ballot boxes have been
counted. According to the electoral department they are in the process of
inputing more data.
It is a new day for St Lucia! And the slogan “Change
is coming” did hold its own during the General Elections. But Socrates says. “The
secret of change is to focus all our energy, not on building the old, but on
building the new.” Yes, let’s get to
work; focus our energies to build a new Choiseul-Saltibus and by extension a
new St Lucia and forget the old. Let the petty partisan politics find no room
in our chambers of development. Choiseul-Saltibus MUST put colours aside and
RALLY WITH BRADLY in this dawn of a new day.
