So much injustice

Dear Editor,

RE: Election laws a 

Waste of Time

Interesting to see on the TV program the ‘Lali’ an announcement by the Electoral office announcing the registration of voters now open and emphasizing that it is a crime not to register.  

The questions I have are:

Why do we threaten to prosecute non-registered voters if their right to vote has been taken away with these districts declaring no election by taking prospective candidates to court for ‘no monotaga’ and residency issue? 

 Why bother to register when the decision to vote has already been made by the village matais?  Why even bother to have universal suffrage with no saying as to who should be your MP because the chiefs have already made the decision?

If treating, bribery and corruption has been happening during the election process, it means a law has been broken and the process of justice should take place.  

What is this with apologizing and forgiving, kneeling, and interfering of matais to pressure the petitioners to withdraw their cases? Does this mean that we accept law breakers or those who are being accused of dishonesty to sit in that Parliament house and in turn tell the country to be honest in accountability and transparency in keeping the law? What a joke man!  

With the lawmakers breaking the very laws they create, and be allowed to be in Parliament is just pathetic, plain day robbery in my book.

If we put people in jail for stealing cans of hearing and money from their employer after they apologize and even paid back some or all of the money, why can’t we do the same with these crooked politicians? 

In reality they are stealing money from the tax payers of this country.  If we can calculate the amount of money these politicians are getting paid for the many hours of meetings in creating these laws and then turned around and disregard them for their own interest, it would be quite an amount.  

If we add to it the amount paid for all the C.E.Os/A.C.E.Os that are required to attend and other Parliament officers and securities it is a huge amount of wasted tax payer’s money. In my bush lawyer’s mind it would amount to a hanging offense. 

Remember that saying, ‘mercy cannot rob justice?’ Aua le avea le alofa ma mea e tuu ai le amiotonu.  These cronies should be prosecuted and deal with according to the law, and if it ends up both parties are guilty then so be it.

I totally agree with T. Samatua’s point to ‘Let the law take its course’ and Mataafa Keni’s editorial of Sunday 17/04/16.  But the worst blasphemy in all this is that the name of ‘God’ is being used as a scapegoat for all these lip service fiasco. When holding Parliament meeting, they pray before meetings, break the law in between and then pray again after, what a joke!!

Maybe, it’s time for the Judiciary Branch of government to take a hard stand in not accepting any more withdrawal of petition once it reaches them. 

That way justice is seen to be done with whoever is accusing the other of breaking the law, and would also sent a message to the village matais not to interfere with justice.

If we allow these things to continue as it is, our election laws and process will always be the same or even worse come the next five years.  Prospective candidates will not care about the law as they know they can always cry, kneel, apologise and beg the village chiefs to step in and help.  Fai atu ai fo’i.

O.T.Tatou 

Bush lawyer

Samoa Observer

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