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This is evidence of gerrymandering
Dear Editor,
Gerrymandering is a rigging process which was used extensively by the PNC in the past and it is once again being used to manipulate the boundaries of (an electoral constituency) so as to increase its constituency wins in certain areas whilst at the same time reducing the constituencies in the PPP favored areas.
According to a press statement by the Executive Secretary of the PPP, Mr Zulfikar Mustapha, “The Minister of Communities, with responsibility for Local Government and Regional Development, Minister Bulkan, issued the Municipal and Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (Participating Local Authorities) Order # 19 of 2018, dated June 8, 2018. In this Order he named “the name of each local authority, the total number of seats, the number of Councilors in respect of the “proportional representation” component, and the number of Constituencies and Councilors in respect of the “first past the post” component. By way of this Order, he announced the creation of one new township and eight new Neighbourhood Democratic Councils, an increase of nine LAAS, bringing the total LAAs to eight.”
He further stated that what was “most interesting in the list of the 80 LAAs identified in Order #19, the PPP discovered that the Minister reduced the number of Constituencies by 16 Constituencies in 14 existing LAAs, thereby making them the subject of re-designation with proposed re-demarcation by GECOM.”
This is evidence of gerrymandering: increasing the NDCs by 8, one new township in the PNC favored areas and reducing the constituencies by 16 in the PPP favored areas. What is even more blatant is the fact that there was no bi-partisan or non-partisan consultation. Furthermore, there was certainly no consultation with the citizens although Article 13 of our Constitution provides for this participation by citizens and their organizations in the decision making process especially in this area which will directly affect their well-being. This is pure unadulterated dictatorship!
Unfortunately, the citizenry seldom appreciates the trickery involved in the gerrymandering process since they feel that the changing of constituents’ boundaries will not affect them directly. This is far from the truth! Citizens are most likely to evidence the rigging process when the balloting process is being manipulated and not by the gerrymandering process. They only appreciate its deviousness when the votes have been cast and the results are out.
Through the gerrymandering process the constituency lines are intentionally rigged and the lines or boundaries are drawn as in this case to place a majority of PPP supporters in fewer constituencies and the PNC supporters are placed in many constituencies. This will give the PNC more constituency wins and less to the PPP even though the PPP would have gotten more votes at the Local Government Elections!
In 2012, in the USA, the Republican won a majority of seats in the US House of Representative, 234 as against the Democrats 201 and this would seem to suggest that the Republicans got more votes than the Democrats. But sadly this was not so, the Democrat Constituencies got more than 500,000 votes more than the Republicans. This is what gerrymandering can do!
The Coalition Government should be condemned for this blatant disregard for the Constitutional rights of the citizens of our country. This Government must stop its progression to dictatorship rule!
Yours sincerely,
Haseef Yusuf
RDC Councilor Region 6
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