By CANDIA DAMES ~ Guardian News Editor ~ candia@nasguard.com:
Progressive Liberal Party Leader Perry Christie flew on the defensive last night, charging that former Elizabeth MP Malcolm Adderley has a back room deal in his back pocket to become a Supreme Court judge, and accusing the prime minister of blurring the separation of powers of the judiciary, the executive and the Parliament.
Addressing a PLP rally at Doris Johnson Senior High School in the Elizabeth constituency last night, Christie repeated that he was not only disappointed in Adderley's decision to resign, but also in the way he went about making his exit from the party and from Parliament.
"My disappointment, I have to tell you, is a very personal one," Christie said.
"My colleagues and many others from the Elizabeth constituency will tell you that I was the one person who stood between Malcolm and the forces within the PLP who fought hard to deny him the re-nomination in the 2007 general election, not because they did not like him but because they honestly felt, as indeed many of the people in Elizabeth felt, that he had been a complete failure as an MP from 2002 when he was first elected to 2007.
"However, after Malcolm and other wonderful people of Elizabeth came to me over and over — and I can use the word begging for my intervention and for my support — I as a leader of the Progressive Liberal Party decided that he was deserving of another chance and that he was not beyond redemption. So even though I ended up taking some heavy blows from my own colleagues for doing so, I put my faith and my confidence in Malcolm Adderley and I saw that he was re-nominated."
In his resignation speech in the House of Assembly on Wednesday, Adderley was highly critical of the leadership of the PLP, making it clear that he had no confidence in it and saw no vision from it.
But last night, Christie said, "Malcolm Adderley did not have a problem with Perry Christie when he was on his knees a little more than two years ago begging me to let him run again, asking me to lift him up and help him out. In fact, I was a very good man then, and a good leader. But all of you now see what a difference two years can make, especially when spiders are busy weaving their tangled web, and you all know who the spider is."
He said the reason Adderley gave for his exit from the PLP is disingenuous.
"Malcolm knows full well that is not the reason he left the PLP and that is not the reason why he resigned from Parliament," Christie said.
"On the contrary, he has resigned from the PLP and from Parliament for one, single, simple reason. He has a back room deal in his back pocket to become a judge of the Supreme Court, a back room deal that was made in secret and I told the Bahamian people to just stay tuned for an announcement that he will be made a judge, and it is only a short time away and per chance, if they are listening to us as we talk, and they want to change their mind, they would be doing the right thing."
He charged that this "back room deal" preceding the appointment to the Supreme Court bench raises another critical point that should be of great concern to Bahamians.
"In recent months we have seen the judiciary of this country placed on the alter of political battering," Christie said. "First, one FNM Cabinet minister and attorney general (Claire Hepburn) gave up her post and in short order was made a judge of the Supreme Court.
"More recently, another FNM Cabinet minister and attorney general was appointed chief justice (Sir Michael Barnett) almost within a matter of days of giving up his Cabinet post. Now, just a few weeks later, we have another politically engineered back room deal under which a sitting member of Parliament is induced to leave his party, so that he can be sanitized, so that he can become a judge of the Supreme Court."
Christie charged that this kind of constitutional "battering" is completely contrary to constitutional principles and represents a stain on the reputation of the judiciary as an organ of government that should be beyond political engineering and gamesmanship.
He said that unlike the current administration, he as prime minister never interfered with or sought to influence the selection of judges by the Judicial and Legal Services Commission.
"It is therefore so very lamentable that Hubert Ingraham is determined to deviate from that standard and policy of non-interference," Christie added.
"And what he is doing today is dangerous. It is blurring what we call the separation of powers that is so vital to the integrity of our system of constitutional governance."
He said the first and most important quality any judge should bring to the bench is impartiality.
"But listening to Malcolm's litany of resentment in the House of Assembly yesterday you really have to ask yourself whether he should not go through a cooling off period before he formally applies to go on the bench," Christie said.
"No man is supposed to go on the bench carrying that kind of emotional baggage. It is therefore incumbent upon the Judicial and Legal Services Commission to carefully scrutinize the whole speech that Malcolm made in the House of Assembly and determine whether the point I made is a valid point and worthy of consideration, whether now is really the right time to put on the high court someone who is clearly hurting over injuries, real or imagined, from the leadership of one of the two main political parties of the country.
"[This] demands the attention of those who are responsible, because clearly it brings into question whether the applicant would have the necessary degree of impartiality and the necessary lack of bias."
Christie said the Judicial and Legal Services Commission must not allow itself to be "railroaded" by anybody.
"It must do what is right and best for the judicial system of our country," he said.
Adderley's resignation from the House of Assembly means that a by-election will have to be called in Elizabeth.
Christie announced that the PLP's candidates committee will be called into session tonight so the party can begin the process of choosing a candidate to run in Elizabeth. He said the candidate may not necessarily be chosen from among the people already campaigning in the constituency.
Among those interested in running on the PLP's ticket are attorneys Ryan Pinder and Craig Butler. Both men addressed last night's rally.
January 8, 2010
thenassauguardian
A political blog about Bahamian politics in The Bahamas, Bahamian Politicans - and the entire Bahamas political lot. Bahamian Blogger Dennis Dames keeps you updated on the political news and views throughout the islands of The Bahamas without fear or favor. Bahamian Politicians and the Bahamian Political Arena: Updates one Post at a time on Bahamas Politics and Bahamas Politicans; and their local, regional and international policies and perspectives.