Election aftermath

Phew!!  The day after.......the dust has settled....and the Democratic Labour Party have won the election and are still in power.  My representative has won back his seat and will continue to represent my neighbourhood.
The results 16:14 , that is 16 seats to the Democratic Labour Party and 14 seats to the Barbados Labour Party.
Life goes on........the populace have spoken.
Yesterday, my daughter and I traveled to our polling station, and I was pleased to see many older folk as well as lots of younger folk out to vote.
As we stood with our ID cards in hand, I had the opportunity to chat with other voters in the line, who were high -spirited and  voiced their concerns about the outcome. Some of the young ones were headed home to sleep, so that they would be up later to "PARR-TEEE" if their party won. The older ones just wanted to make sure the country would be in good hands after the votes were counted.  But to each his/her own.
I stayed up until 1.15am and at that point the DLP were in the lead....my bed was calling my name.
Woke up today to a new day, but yet no different from yesterday.
What remains to be seen, is how we will chart our course to ride out these harsh economic times.
The blogs, and the political pundits and all the die-hard party afficionados will have much to say in the coming weeks, but it all boils down to the fact that we need caring and trustworthy members of parliament to run this country.  Our beloved island of Barbados. 
I wish them all well. 
So what happens now?

"When all of the results are known the Governor General will usually invite the leader of the party winning the most seats in the House of Assembly to be Prime Minister and to form a Government.
The Prime Minister will appoint several members of his party for both Houses to become members of the Cabinet.

The Cabinet will consist of the Prime Minister and not fewer than five other Ministers. Ministers are appointed by the Governor General, acting in accordance with the advice of the Prime Minister, from among the members of the two Houses. The Governor General may also appoint Parliamentary Secretaries to assist Ministers in the discharge or their functions.
The Opposition is made up of the party that wins the second-largest number of seats in Parliament, and forms a "shadow" cabinet poised to assume power at any time during the ruling government's five-year term.
The Governor-General appoints as Leader of the Opposition the person who, in his/her judgment, is best able to command the support of a majority of those members of the House who do not support the Government.

The New Parliament
A few days after the general election the House of Assembly will assemble in preparation for the new Parliament to begin. All MPs must be sworn in by taking an oath of allegiance or making an affirmation, and must sign the official register. The Speaker and Deputy Speaker are customarily selected by a vote of the siting members of parliament.


THE SENATE
The Senate has 21 members, all appointed by the Governor-General , 12 on the advice of the Prime Minister, two on the advice of the Leader of the Opposition, and seven in the Governor-General’s discretion.
Senators may also be appointed as Ministers or Parliamentary Secretaries. The Senate meets chiefly when there is business from the House of Assembly. The Senate is referred to as the Upper House."


This is not a political blog, but I will close by saying that I am so happy that it is all over. 
Life goes on.

Election Day!!!

 
Today is the big day. Election Day. 
It's a regular day, with the exception that schools are closed, since many are being used as polling stations, hence the traffic will be bearable today.
Stores and shops are open, but no alcohol will be sold or served between 6am-6pm during the polling hours.
Businesses are open, however employers must allow their employees the minimum of one hour to exercise their right to vote. Failure to do so will result in a fine of Bds$500.00 or imprisonment for 6 months.
The end of all the canvassing, the constant radio and tv announcements, the radio call-in programmes inundated with nothing but politics, the newspapers filled with political material to fill a never-ending archive, oh yes, and all the election circulars which are dumped into your mailbox.

 Democratic Labour Party Election Circular

Do you see that finger showing me "How to Vote"?

 Barbados Labour Party Election Circular

Today will be a quiet day, almost sombre. No more election meetings, no more blaring loud speakers announcing party allegiance, no public discussions on politics....just a quiet day.
Today, the wearing of apparel bearing any political image or slogan is not allowed. No congregating within 100 yards of a polling station, no influencing voters, no asking voters for whom they voted....in other words keep ones opinions to oneself and mind ones business.
Of course the hotels have warned all their guests that the bar will not be serving liquor during polling hours, nor should they expect to be able to purchase liquor from any shop or supermarket on the island. Definitely not a rum and coke  or martini day, except they have a previous stash of liquor in their rooms.
Actually the supermarkets usually have their liquor sections cordoned off for the day.  


 Now some background information.

 "Voting is by secret ballot. Ballot papers are anonymous, to prevent undue influence on voters, and the ballot boxes are sealed to prevent electoral fraud.

The only people allowed in the polling station are the presiding officer, the polling clerks, the duty police officers, the candidates, their election agents and polling agents and the  voters.
Just before the poll opens, the presiding officer shows the ballot boxes to those at the polling station to prove that they are empty. The boxes are then locked and sealed. In the polling station voters are directed to the presiding officer or polling clerk, who asks the voter his or her name, checks that it is on the register, and places a mark against the register entry. This records that the voter has received a ballot paper but does not show which one. The officer or clerk gives the ballot paper an official mark before handing the paper to the voter. The official mark is intended to show that the papers placed in the ballot box are genuine.

The ballot paper lists the names of the candidates in alphabetical order. Voting takes place in a booth, which is screened to maintain secrecy. The voter marks the ballot paper with a cross in the box opposite the name of the candidate of his or her choice, and folds the paper to conceal the vote before placing it in the ballot box.
A paper that is spoiled by mistake must be returned to the presiding officer. If the presiding officer is satisfied that the soiling was accidental, another paper is provided and the first is canceled. At the end of the voting the presiding officer delivers those spoilt papers to the returning officer. The ballot boxes are then sealed and delivered to the central point - the Counting Station, where the count is to take place. 
All ballot boxes are taken to a central place in each constituency where counting takes place. Each ballot box is emptied, the papers mixed up and the votes counted by teams of helpers. This is done in the presence of the candidates. When all the votes have been counted the results are announced by the Returning officer. Depending on the time it takes to bring all of the ballot boxes to the count and the result of the count, the final result may be announced before midnight. Most results will come in during the early hours of the morning, but some will not be known until well into the next day.
If the result is close then either candidate can demand a recount. The Returning officer will advise the candidates of the figures and sanction a recount. Recounts can continue until both candidates and the Returning Officer are satisfied with the result.

 Today, Barbadians vote not for a Prime Minister, but for the candidates running in each of the 30 single-seat constituencies throughout Barbados. A party needs to win 16 constituencies to command a majority in the House of Assembly, which allows it to choose a Prime Minister, formally appointed by the Governor General. Once selected, the prime minister begins the task of forming a government."

I'm off to do my civic duty...catch you all later.

Election Eve

It's the night before the election, and the air is filled with lots of noise...not the constant chirping of the crickets, nor the noisy kites that are left staked out at night by the kids in the neighbourhood, but the noise of both political parties making the most of the last moments by canvassing late into the night.
My ears are being assaulted, and the loudspeakers bombard the tranquility inside my home.  It certainly can't be aimed at me, so it surely must be aimed at the undecideds.
Thank goodness this madness will be over tomorrow....oh my not quite, because after the results are announced,  the winning party will have several victory motorcades and victory rallies for days and nights afterwards.
The polls open at 6am tomorrow, and there are lots of rules that must be adhered to.
Tomorrow,  no sales of alcohol are allowed from 6am-6pm (opening and closing times for the polls), so rest assured that some happy folks will be stocking up on their liquor intake from tonight.
The party faithfuls will be busy while we are asleep, since every single flyer that has been affixed to all light poles, as well as the buntings need to be removed before 6am tomorrow.
Flyers, flags, buntings are forbidden for tomorrow, since these may cause some influence on those who are still undecided.
Tonight I am going to sleep and dream of a fairy-tale ending to all this madness.

It must be noted that the latest Caribbean Development Research Services (CADRES) poll suggests that tomorrow's election is simply too close to call. 

Tooth Begone

When my tooth broke off a while ago, (yes the said tooth that was scheduled for a root canal) the visit to my dentist was not a happy story.
Apparently, what was left of the tooth  needed a dental surgeon to take care of it, which my dentist was not.
I was referred to a notable dental surgeon on the island, who according to my dentist, "performs these surgeries everyday. He will get it out Lickety Split!"
So off I traipsed to said dental surgeon full of hope, but yet quite timid at going to see someone new.  I don't like any and everyone poking around in my mouth, but I'm like that.
However, after his consultation, I was not in a happy place.
According to the esteemed dental surgeon, the surgery needed would involve a dose of laughing gas to sedate me, and then an intricate surgery to get the remnant tooth out.....a grand total of $800.00....OUCH!

Yes, $400.00 for the laughing gas, and another $400.00 for the surgery.
I came away from that appointment literally laughing my head off.

My daughter, my personal comedian (aren't all kids?), informed me that "maybe you were paying for the whole canister of laughing gas Mum!"   Very funny. Very funny indeed.
Daughter dear then went on to tell me that if she had been informed that the cost of the laughing gas was $400.00, her response to the surgeon would have been, "ha, ha, ha, ha, I'm laughing already!!"

You all know I love the environment, and I always try in my small way to reduce my carbon footprint on the earth.
Since I was not in any pain, and I was not too keen on the laughing gas, I more or less put the broken tooth on the back burner.
Maybe I would have to go back to the old time methods......hmmmmm....

 

Needless to say, a couple of weeks ago, I decided that it was time to take care of the broken tooth.
Here, on the island, we are entitled to free medical attention, which I never use. So guess what? I made an appointment for the tooth,

....... and today the tooth is no more.
A lovely lady dentist took the tooth out "Lickety Split", there was no pain, and no laughing gas, and in less than 5 minutes.
So how about that?

Anyone know the going rate of half a tooth from the Tooth Fairy?

The beat is still going on!

Yesterday, Sunday afternoon, I finally managed to capture some photos of the Democratic Labour Party's (DLP) election motorcade in my neighbourhood.
Four trucks filled with loyal supporters all dancing and waving flags while the catchy election songs blared from the loud speakers.

Motorcades also include cyclists and cars

Four trucks on a mission

I barely caught these photos in time before they were gone again.