St. George’s, Grenada (July 5, 2008) Senator Einstein Louison, in his capacity as Minister of National Security, has banned all political parties in the country from holding islandwide motorcades tomorrow, Sunday, in the run-up to Tuesday’s general election.The move by Louison, who shares the National Security portfolio with Prime Minister Keith Mitchell, is primarily targeted at the National Democratic Congress, which seems poised to defeat Dr. Mitchell’s New National Party that has been in power for the last 13 years.
“This latest decision by Dr. Mitchell is high-handed and undemocratic and reminiscent of Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe,’’ said an NDC spokesman.
The order issued today by Minister Louison follows a series developments over the past two days in which the Commissioner of Police, Winston James, gave permission to the NNP to hold a motorcade with the use of sound system.
On Thursday morning, James also wrote the NDC telling them that the party would not be allowed to hold a motorcade with a sound system.
But at a political meeting in St. Paul’s Thursday evening, Prime Minister Mitchell went a step further saying that only one motorcade will be held on Sunday. That motorcade, he said, will be of the NNP. Further, the Prime Minister suggested that he is prepared to seek foreign assistance to stop any opposition motorcade on Sunday by using his position as chairman of the Regional Security System (RSS).
Then, at a meeting with the Commissioner on Friday, James informed NDC executive members that they were not being allowed to hold a motorcade or to use a sound system.
The NDC responded that the Commissioner had no authority to stop their motorcade and they were going ahead with their motorcade.
Representatives of civil society intervened and met with Prime Minister Mitchell to discuss the situation. In a late breaking development Friday night, it was reported that the Prime Minister had told the civil society representatives that he was calling off all motorcades scheduled for Sunday.
But this morning on radio, the NNP was still advertising its motorcade for Sunday. The NDC decided it, too, was going to have a motorcade and a rally, which is going to be held at Pearls in St. Andrew.
Before noon, however, the Minister Louison issued his order banning all motorcades.
“The Prime Minister is desperate and is trying to provoke a confrontation and to scuttle Tuesday’s election that he is certain to lose,’’ the NDC spokesman said.
