Doh make Grenada elections give allu confidence na!! De opposition issa waste of time in DCA!!

Doh make Grenada elections give allu confidence na!! De opposition issa waste of time in DCA!!

 

“Your Excellency, Dame Cecile La Grenade, Governor General, Members of Parliament elect former Prime Minister, Mr. Tillman Thomas and Mrs. Thomas, Members of the Diplomatic Corps, honorary counsels, fellow candidates, heads of observer missions, OAS and CARICOM, distinguish ladies and gentlemen and forgive me if I acknowledge my grandmother, my parents, my children; Olivia and Christian. Thank you both for coming.

I know in Christian’s case I dragged him here. So I promise it’s the only time I will drag you. My aunts, extended members of my family and a special… special welcome to the members of the National Democratic Congress, our supporters, volunteers, workers, & prayer warriors.

Let me acknowledge the presence of the Commissioner of Police. It’s an absolute…. it’s an absolute honour to be standing before you this afternoon. It is still a little surreal. And so forgive me if I may have to pinch myself a few times during the course of the afternoon.

I want to start by acknowledging the Almighty God for the wonderful miracle he has created by giving the National Democratic Congress and myself the opportunity to form the Government of Grenada.
Without His blessings and guidance, I don’t think we will be standing here today.

And I think you could forgive me if I say, this is nothing short of a miracle.
And so I have no illusion that somehow I had anything to do with this. And if I did, it’s a very small part. But I think the real praise go to the citizens of Grenada who have shown that even when larger countries falter, that our democracy is strong, that our democracy is alive, and that the power rests with the people, and less we forget…. and less we forget, the people will always make the ultimate decision.

So I want to ask all of you to give the people of Petite Martinique, Carriacou and Grenada another round of applause for their commitment to the fundamental principle of democracy, to the fundamental principle of freedom of choice, to the fundamental principle of personal liberty, and to the right to vote.

And I want to re-emphasize that each adult citizen of Grenada has the power to determine by a single vote, who leaves and when that leadership comes to an end and who succeeds. And so it is with that reminder that I humbly accept to go to work on behalf of the people, to go to work on behalf of the citizens of Grenada.

And since it seems that my previous career has dominated quite a bit of the political talk, I can assure citizens that the same fervor, the same energy, the same resolve, that I brought to my career as a lawyer, I now bring it to and on behalf of all, and let me emphasize ALL, the citizens of Petite Martinique, Carriacou and Grenada.

I shall not be long, but I want to thank the Governor General for agreeing, obviously, with very short notice to this afternoon ceremony to allow me to be sworn in as the Prime Minister.

I think her Office recognizes the importance of ensuring that we get on with the people’s business and I also want to thank her for also facilitating the declaration of a public holiday today, to also get on with the people’s business because I am sure I would perhaps become a very unpopular Prime Minister if I did not accede to the people’s requests for a public holiday today, so I am happy that she allowed me to start on both counts on the right foot. So thank you, Your Excellency.

I want to say thank you to the Parliamentary Elections Office, the Supervisor of Elections and all of the election day workers and I will not be a hypocrite by suggesting that I was always happy with the Parliamentary Elections Office or for that matter, the Office of the Supervisor of Elections or some of the challenges we faced, but at the end of the day, I think we can conclude, and I’m not saying that simply because we won the election, I think we can conclude that all in all, the process worked fairly and that the will of the people… that the will of the people I was demonstrably shown.

Having said that, I will also not be hypocrite by indicating that we believe we need to significantly strengthen our electoral process. It is in dire need of reform.
It has to function to serve the people. It has to be service oriented. It has to be efficient, and it has to be a system that encourages all citizens to vote rather than discourages them.

And so it is certainly one of the main issues that we will seek to immediately address so that we can ensure that our democracy is strengthened for generations of Grenadians to come. But nonetheless, all of the electoral workers and the office of the Supervisor of Elections deserve our praise and collective gratitude because by no means being at the polls all day and preparing for a polling day is not an easy task.

And by extension I want to thank as well the Commissioner of Police and the police officers who would have provided human service to ensure….to ensure that the polls were conducted safely and securely. And I particularly want to thank the electors of Petite Martinique, Carriacou and Grenada. Many of you braved hot and humid weather, long lines sometimes for three to four hours to cast your ballot.