[net.politics] Grenada :US $$$$ in election

orb@whuxl.UUCP (SEVENER) (10/07/85)

> In article <558@im4u.UUCP> riddle@im4u.UUCP (Prentiss Riddle) writes:
> >This is half-rememembered and could be wrong in some or all details, but
> >here's what I seem to recall.
> >
> >>2) Have elections been held, if so when, and who won?
> >    Don't think so, but I think there are plans.
> 
> Elections have been held. Sir Eric Gairy's party took 0 or 1 seats (I 
> can't remember which). And I *think* that some other party took all
> the rest. Gairy is now claiming that the elections were a fraud due
> to the use of ballots, allegedly provided by the CIA, which automagically
> checked the member of the CIA favoured party regardless of the voter's
> actual choice. Undoubtedly, one of his buddies in a UFO told him. Gairy,
> himself, did not run this time.
> 
> J.B. Robinson

The party which overwhelmingly won the election was a party supported
by the U.S. which received millions of dollars in campaign funds
from "private" U.S. sources.  That their huge warchest largely came
from U.S. contributions was an open secret - I recall several AP and UPI
articles in the New York Times about it.
Money is not an absolute guarantee that the side that has it will necesarily
win a fairly conducted election.  (Or else Republicans would control all
offices in our own country)  But when one side has millions of dollars and
the other side is trying to scrape up money for a postage stamp and bail for
its leaders in prison- then it can heavily influence the results.
 
It should be no surprise then that the party the U.S. government supported
was the party that won. 
                             tim sevener  whuxn!orb