ST JOHN’S, Antigua – Opposition Leader Lester Bird yesterday accused Irish communications firm Digicel of interfering in Antigua and Barbuda’s electoral process.
In his weekly radio broadcast, Bird referred to an October 2 newspaper article in which Edward Mansoor, the telecommunications minister, boasted that Digicel would be giving “over 15 000 people Internet access free of cost”.
“The [Antigua] Labour Party would have no difficulty with such a big giveaway to the people of Antigua and Barbuda if there were objective criteria by which recipients would be selected, and if the selection of areas to benefit . . . was done in a bipartisan way favouring no political party and with no political purpose,” Bird said.
He added, however, that when the areas for the “giveaway” were scrutinised, it was clear that they fell within two of the constituencies that were the subject matter awaiting a decision of the Court of Appeal. These constituencies are held by Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer and Tourism minister John Maginley.
In March this year High Court Judge, Justice Louise Blenman, ruled that the March 12 2009 election of Spencer, Maginley and Education Minister Jacqui Quinn-Leandro were invalid.
“I want to give the owners of Digicel the benefit of the doubt, and to assume that their head office in Ireland is not aware of the serious political implications of this scheme,” Bird said.
“I cannot believe that the owners of Digicel would, in any way, conspire with the UPP to initiate a plan that would interfere with the political process of a country in which they are partners with the people as a whole.” (CMC)
