"Story-tellers are a threat. They threaten all champions of control, they frighten usurpers of the right to freedom of the human spirit..."

-Chinua Achebe

Maria: Beyond the Ballot: The Liability of Winning!

By Kwame Nkosi Romeo

Part 2 of 3:

Maria, it belies the fact that the oppression of the Antigua and Barbuda people begins at home, at home in our predatory state that supports the twin deceit of the Antigua Labor Party (ALP) and Antigua and Barbuda Electoral Commission (ABEC) corruption of democracy 

Why would the Antigua and Barbuda Electoral Commission (ABEC) publicly condemn Haile 'Bruce' Goodwin, former Ambassador to Cuba and the African Union, a man known for his integrity, without questioning prime minister Gaston Browne's statement after the 2018 election fraud was committed in the  St. Johns City East Constituency (SJCE) to secure victory for the ALP incumbent and others?

It is important that, before the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Antigua and Barbuda on November 1-4, 2026, the Opposition United Progressive Party (UPP) begin compiling a list of all relevant socio-economic issues affecting the twin-island nation and circulate it to all participating countries at CHOGM! 

That issue of electoral fraud raises concerns about ABEC's selective outrage and the ALP government's support for ABEC's press release against someone defending the people's rights, revealing the arbitrary use of state power.

If people weren’t afraid of retaliation, many would speak out and expose the hidden web of mistrust and government collusion in suppressing citizens' rights and stealing elections just as they plunder the Public Treasury!

Such actions indicate that ABEC and the ALP government are engaging in fraudulent election practices aimed at maintaining the status quo and ignoring the democratic rights of the people.

It’s time for informed individuals to speak out or share this information with someone who can bring it to light and expose democratic corruption and ABEC bobol of convenience. 

Relying solely on on-the-ground observers does not guarantee truthful transparency; thorough investigations are crucial.

A transparency investigation that goes beyond the ballot rather than trying to deflect the real grinding economic issues and socio-economic factors confronting the country!

At the same time, prme minister Gaston Browne's deceptive speeches about the country's progress, development, wealth, and freedom are advertised abroad, only to be paved over by slop-pail infrastructure before every election.

This is the cycle of propaganda and self-enrichment that continues throughout the government, and the fact that ALP is a proxy for foreign investors such as Oetker Group, Yida, PLH, Robert De Niro, and the Arab conglomerate is undeniable, and is adversarial to the country's development.

Maria, you know that people's personal, financial, and social data are often compromised to score political points through Browne's political gospel of threat and coercion, which affects the ordinary man in the countryside!

 Still, this transparency is hidden when it comes to the economic elites and is obvious in the lifestyle of today's politicians in government (PIGS)!

That was further exposed during the Nigel Christian murder case by Attorney at Law Sheffied Bowen: 

"....when the system decides to come for you, they'll come for you."

In whatever way it is understood, it underscores the system as a fraudulent aspect of the electoral process, and many people are absorbed in thought about what's next. 

Families, friends, social justice warriors, and those affected by state-sanctioned violence may react unexpectedly to uphold and defend their consent of fortitude and never surrender or acquiesce to the consent of servitude!

One must remember the world is always evolving, and many move in silence in whatever jurisdiction to seek justice, a level of justice that uproots the root and vanquishes the branches of oppression!

Another significant issue that raised the head and the gripping claws of maintaining power is the golden shackle of bobol worn on the wrist of politicians as status symbols of timepiece wealth by the inter-political corruption of trade-offs: 

Such as the distribution of food vouchers, cash bribes, and businesspeople acquiescing to demands of $1 million and upwards, a fleet of car rentals, and secret land deals signed over to MPs and wealthy investors, who exchange government concessional grants for campaign contributions, is a classic quid pro quo!

A vivid reminder of these activities came in public discourse when businessman Aziz Hadeed openly announced that the notorious Asot Michael demanded and got $7.5 million.

Why pay, only for it to be called extortion?

Hadeed knew what was owed to the Public Treasury, and, as the Barrymore Hotel shadow owner, those monies collected by Hadeed belonged to the Treasury, not in the pockets of Bird-Michael corruption!

When did that happen? Ask Aziz; the facts are public!

You were not an MP at that time, but the preceding example gave rise to that ALP continuous activity! However, your silence on current affairs speaks volumes, making you the infamous symbol of complicity and inaction.

Compared to others who switched parties, many call them loyalists. But in reality, they are political "whogalists," as you know; however, you remain bound by the marriage vow of "for better or for worse," and not the oath of allegiance to protect and serve those who vested their power in you!

 

But the political whogalists and betrayers of people's vote, too, are enslaved to the noxious pigs 'washings' of corruption, which has become acceptable politics, filled with the foul scent of manipulation and subservience. 

None can condemn the other in this marriage of corruption!

This political outlook is a condemnation of the party's ideology that trampled on people's trust and sold off their resources for a few dollars more, as the legendary King Obsti calypso message on the Classic Album released in 1986, "They sell off my black birthright," was a manifesto of truth! 

Give it a listen and let the lyrics shock you back to reality!

The era of French movie star Jean Paul Belmondo being given 110.46 acres of people's patrimony and Maurice Safarti, Dato Tan Kay Hok/Stanford/YIDA, Flat Point Development in Antigua to Aldo Pinto; Peace Love and Happiness, and Robert De Niro in Barbuda, encapsulates the generation of leadership of hardship under the ALP without any consequences for the odious deals and payback of the more than 18,000- 20,000 acres already distributed!

The people are demanding reparative justice!