By Dr Isaac Newton

Late start and undue influence define the Antigua Labour Party (ALP) opposition High Court (HC) case against the United Progressive Party (UPP) government in Antigua and Barbuda. The ALP would have to present clear, compelling, airtight and overwhelming evidence that electoral protocols were not followed, and that the constitution was breached.

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Dr Isaac Newton is an international leadership and change management consultant and political adviser who specialises in government and business relations, and sustainable development projects. Dr Newton works extensively in West Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America, and is a graduate of Oakwood College, Harvard, Princeton and Columbia. He has published several books on personal development and written many articles on economics, leadership, political, social, and faith-based issues.

f the ALP can prove -- not merely establish -- that on the balance of probability, the outcome of the March 9 general elections would have been different, within the four constituencies under question, a by-election will be forthcoming.

Since the burden of proof rests on the ALP, the UPP does not have to answer the charges. But according to all that I have read and heard, the UPP is doing a masterful job, in diminishing the evidence that supports the ALP’s case.

Although the immediate concerns of the HC case highlights issues of constitutional guarantees, the case has brought more fundamental problems to the surface that will remain with us, long after these concerns are legally settled.

First, it appears that the government’s recovery package focuses more on slogans than on solutions. Yet to many observers, the fact that the HC case is being carried out in the midst of national stress-- where the National Economic and Social Transformation (NEST) program and Build Own Operate and Transfer (BOOT) plan--- to repair the economy has not brought tangible success---shows a lack of regards for political pragmatism and political maturity.

Political maturity is the ability of the people and their leaders, to behave, to scrutinize decisions, and to discuss important issues, in ways that advances the country to the benefit of everyone.

Second, for the most part, the local media and the various commentators that are reporting on the case, suggest that our domestic political culture is not exactly at home with the idea of nurturing a progressive society. Instead of promoting the value of education and enlightenment, the politics of hearsay and petty street talk is allowed full reign. Unfortunately, harsh arguments, not reasoned debates are allowed to flourish.

Third, although we should celebrate the fact that provisions to challenge elections outcomes are freely evoked, we should ask, whether these provisions are capitalized upon, in ways that makes political maturity illusive. I get the impression that we are not mature enough, to distinguish genuine elections hiccups from subtle or overt political mischief. Genuine elections hiccups are byproduct of human errors. Political mischiefs are strategies to keep power by inhibiting our rights to vote.

Fourth, the case before the HC indicates that our attitudes of accepting victories and defeats need revamping. The responsibility falls on our leaders to showcase the need to examine, what corrective measures must now be put in place, both to minimize and to eliminate, processes that compromises the people’s franchise.

Two take home lessons are: 1) We should invite persons of sound ethical standing and who display sharp intelligence and measured objectivity to preside over institutions that guarantee our democratic rights and 2) We should give serious consideration to the benchmarks that must serve as a breathing ground to attract mature political leaders.

Nevertheless, the outcome of the case offers our political leaders an opportunity to grow up. I hope they accept Justice Blenman’s considered ruling in the spirit of maturity. On both sides, regardless of who wins; I hope that the nation will not be plunged fast and hard, into a dark constitutional crisis.

Fifth, I worry that our educational system (formal and informal) is lacking much. It does not expose our children to the inner workings of our political system -- including the art of social advocacy, the importance of speaking truth to power within acceptable standards of constructive critiques, and the need to distinguish collective good from narrow party initiatives.

Sixth, from generation to generation, with all the information available to us via the media and other outlets, small minded thinking still determines our national destiny. For example, we are not honest enough to accept that neither good economic times nor high political support have prevented the UPP from a general breakdown in delivering on promises of change and development. But are we daring enough, to demand that the ALP’s plans for the future of Antigua and Barbuda, adhere to initiatives steep in progressive thinking.

Seventh, I fear that the present failures of the UPP might serve to falsely reinforce policies and practices of the ALP that worked to advance the country in times gone by. Yet if the ALP does not recognize, that it faces a world of immense changing political challenges and severe economic realities, it will end up repeating the same mistakes, that it now, decries the UPP for.

Eighth, grassroots advocates and thought-leaders continue to let political immaturity go unchallenged, the consequences of not growing up, in this recession climate will not go away. I pray we do not find ourselves struggling between untold disaster and dramatic chaos as political players work to overcome the wide unrest that voters are expressing in anti-political establishment sentiments. Responsible leadership requires even demands, the ability to maintain emotional balance, the capacity to dispel anxiety in positive ways and acute self-awareness to seek time away from the tedium of daily political life.

Indeed, whether the government stays or goes by the outcome of the HC case, meaningful change in our political behavior should focus on the challenges ahead. Vibrating with a willing to leap forward, we must prove that we can govern our own affairs with political maturity. We just might discover, surprising results.