THE Court of Disputed Returns provides an avenue for unsuccessful candidates to seek redress and to ensure that the electoral process is respected.
Unfortunately, some candidates have abused the system to blackmail elected MPs.
Although the Electoral Commission says that there have been fewer petitions this emanating from the July elections, about 170 were filed.
Most were later withdrawn or dismissed and 26 are now pending before the courts.
The number of petitions withdrawn speaks for itself.
In one case, a former elected leader withdrew his petition after he was offered a position in a statutory body and with it, generous perks and privileges.
Another case was filed in the Highlands and the petitioner reportedly was offered more than K500,000.
Not surprisingly, the petition was dropped like a ton of bricks.
Presumably, other cases were withdrawn due to latent and sinister negotiations between the parties involved.
If unsuccessful candidates view the judicial process as a profit-making venture rather than as the protector of fairness and equity, the general public will hold the judicial process in very low esteem.
Today, we have a growing number of highly-educated people, including politicians, who cannot differentiate between what is legal and what is illegal.
They have no regard for the consequences of their illegal or immoral action.
Their attitude, coupled with the law and order problems faced by the country, will cause our justice system to greatly deteriorate.
They are prepared to twist, turn and bend laws in pursuit of their personal interest.
What is the motive for unsuccessful candidates using the judiciary to blackmail MPs?
And why have MPs entered into surreptitious deals to safeguard their newly-acquired positions?
If MPs and their accomplices eschew the system of justice to protect their own self-interest, common sense questions why do these people want to become legislators in the first instance.
And if we have MPs who have no understanding of the concept of fairness, they are without question unfit for the role and responsibilities of a legislator.
MPs are foremost legislators, and if they look with disdain upon the functions of the judiciary, the very institution of legislature will be viewed with derision.
The people’s rights will inevitably be abused or diluted when power is concentrated in only one arm of government. Thus, legislators have to allow the process of justice to play its part without trying to preempt or even to eschew from it.
All MPs must show their respect for the justice system.
Justice is a universal principle and exists independent of any group and institution.
Its presence and operation are prevalent and all-encompassing.
Likewise, its absence is also quickly felt.
People can only wheedle with it, but only for the moment. Hence, justice is basic and a fundamental pillar of human bonding and societal order.
Elected MPs may eschew justice, thinking that they are above the law. However, justice will prevail no matter what they conceived of it.
In negotiating a compromise with losing candidates, MPs may not only have dismissed the idea of fairness, but they also have lost their integrity.
Integrity is quickly disappearing from our society, especially among our politicians.
As mentioned often, a politician without integrity is not a leader, and does not deserve respect from the people.
MPs who have offered money and bribes to petitioners to dodge the process of justice have no integrity. They should be ashamed of themselves.
They did not stand for election to protect the interest of the State, its institutions and the people, but to work for themselves.
Integrity takes a long time to build, and if that is tarnished, it will take even a longer time to rebuild. Sometimes, it can never be rebuilt.
There are many things that politicians do that destroy their integrity, and yet they have no sense of guilt and shame (em nomal tasol).
MPs who entered into surreptitious deals with unsuccessful candidates (petitioners) have lost their integrity.
First, they did not allow the courts to preside over the matter and uncover the truth.
It is only people with moral courage that would allow the truth to emerge and speak for itself.
We should never forget that moral courage is an indispensable ingredient of a true leader.
On the other hand, unsuccessful candidates who regard petitions as a passport to riches or positions are setting a bad precedence.
Their practice of filing petitions and then withdrawing it when they have obtained what they want will only encourage others to follow suit.
There is certainly grounds for tough penalties to be imposed on petitioners who use the system of justice for personal indulgence.