Contrary to popular sentiments, Abe Dabdoub is to be commended for vigorously pursuing justice, for perceived wrongs, through legitimate means. If more Jamaicans followed his example, ours would be a better and more peaceful country. Mr. Dabdoub is a victim – “a prophet hath honour, save in his own country”. History will be kind to Mr. Dabdoub because of his consistently principled litigiousness. All legitimate tenets and/or principles of our Constitution are to respected and upheld at all times, in all seasons and under all circumstances. This has not always been our practice and in fact our leaders have dealt with it (the Constitution) according to their “whims and fancy” and that in large measure accounts for our current state of lawlessness, law enforcement impotency and near anarchy.
Mr. Dabdoub is understandably disappointed because his cause was just. And as we have come to expect from him, he gave it his best shot- he went beyond the call of duty. But alas, even though justice and the Constitution are on his side, the rights of the voters of West Portland (the major) take precedence, yes, supersede his rights, in this unique case.
Mr. Danville Walker, Director of Elections, published a counter notice when Mr. Dabdoub had previously advised voters of Daryl Vaz’s ineligibility on the grounds that he had willingly sworn allegiance to another country. Mr. Vaz renewed and travelled on his United States passport when he attained adulthood thereby swearing allegiance to the United States of America. This act is in contravention of the Jamaican Constitution which prohibits such individuals, dual citizens, from sitting in Gordon House.
The notice from the Electoral Office of Jamaica (EOJ) that all 120 candidates were duly elected and that any other notice to the contrary was “political gimmickry” prejudiced Mr. Dabdoub’s case and may have caused a majority of the voters to dismiss his (Dabdoub’s) notice as “politricks”. The voters of West Portland cannot therefore be faulted. Mr. Walker is supposed to be a non-partisan, disinterested third party and Mr. Dabdoub is supposed to be a political contender. When faced with uncertainty, the major of voters of West Portland did what was expected – they believed Danville Walker and the EOJ.
Justice and the Constitution demanded that the voters of West Portland went to the polls after the matter of Mr. Vaz’s eligibility to sit in parliament was fully ventilated. This is now the case and the Courts have decided. And we hope both parties will accept the verdict of the now informed voters of West Portland when it is handed down come the night of Monday, March 23, 2009.
Carlos R. King, Voter Empowerment Advocate, Old Harbour, Jamaica, carlos.r.king@hotmail.com
Mr. King, I agree with your sentiments as far as Mr. Dabdoub contesting and questioning Mr Vaz’s qualification (viz-a-viz his citizenship) to be a candidate in the election. However, whether Mr. Dabdoub would have won the seat is open to question. I think in this regard, Mr. Dabdoub can be compared to a number of Republicans who lost to Democrats in this past US elections – they had just fallen out of favor after being part of a party that had lost its way. Justice McCalla made the right call – a decision the Court of Appeals reaffirmed.
As for the EOJ, they mostly got it right this past election and now it’s time for the political leadership to get it right by fixing the Constitution to prevent this from re-occurring. This should not just apply to Jamaicans who are also US citizens but to those who are citizens of other British Commonwealth nations as well.
Abe Dabdoub’s is a case of vindictiveness being translated as philosophy. This is a man who is not a ‘born’ PNP, who came up through the ranks, this is a born Labourite, a die hard supporter of Edward Seaga who despises Bruce Golding, and because of that sentiment, crossed the floor.
The PNP, mistaking itself for the Riverton City dump, takes the JLP’s trash. It accepted Dabdoub when he brought them the Portland seat.
Had the PNP dumped him and ran a candidate that the people liked, the PNP would have won the seat. But they ran Dabdoub, whom Bruce knew could not win.
Vaz took the seat, and Dabdoub, incensed looked for any and every reason to unseat him; hence this ‘dual national’ tripe. Every Parliament from 1962 has had dual nationals.
To take Dabdoub’s point to the logical conclusion…Jamaica has NEVER had a valid Parliament. Hence all Acts passed, all appointments made are illegal. Just as fielding an unqualified player will cause all matches played by that team to be declared invalid, and the rankings adjusted, for that player makes the team invalid, so too would the ‘fielding’ of an unqualified M.P. make the Parliament invalid.
The Court of Appeal made its decision, which no doubt Dabdoub will take to the Privy Council. Now any anarchist wouldn’t mind the chaos, and anyone who is more interested in the colour of the shirt than the content might clap with glee; but this is a very serious issue, and it is not just the West Portland seat; it goes to the very root of the legality of Jamaica itself.
In my humble opinion, Dabdoub is again acting in a childish and asinine manner, by not accepting the “will of the people.” Which party is he going to run to next, now that he has again shown his inability to win a constituency on his own merits?
He “ain’t no” hero Carlos, so stop misinterpreting the facts.
Dabdoub tried the same thing in another constituency that roundly rejected his candidacy. It appears that he has not learned to respect the now more mature Jamaican Electorate. An arrogant person cannot be an effective and fair top public “servant.”