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Beware of Subscribing or supporting a party or candidates who are working against our collective interests

8-21-2019

Federal elections are just around the corner. The question we need to ask as individuals and collectively as a community that are, we truly novice or naïve about the pitfalls of political campaigns that we could so easily be herded to the polls by few individuals in supporting a party or a candidate – including those who don’t really deserve our support?

Soon we will witness the unleashing of an aggressive political campaigns launched within our own community by our own community members rooting for one party while discrediting all others.

In a way this is good that our people are finally awaken to the political realities and have realized the virtues of being involved in a democratic political process. However, at the same time one must also accept the fact that our people, many of whom are not aware of the political system, are herded to the polls like cattle and eventually vote for a party or a candidate that would not benefit our community. Rather we must vote based on party’s platform or the candidate’s abilities.

Unfortunately, our community members, vast majority of them not being an expert in the field often end up subscribing or supporting a party which is working against our collective interests. Even worst, at times, our community members realize after the fact that a certain individual using his or her unique position in a Muslim Organizations is influencing our sacred decision. Unfortunately, By the time we realize, it is too late.

A classical example of just that is unfolding in our neighbouring province, Alberta involving former Federal minister, with the Harper’s Conservatives, Mr. Jason Kenney, now the Alberta’s Premier as United Conservative Party (UCP) leader.

In this instance two former presidents of Pakistan Canada Association, one from Calgary, who was elected, the other from Edmonton, signed up members from the Muslim comuunity. Tariq Chaudhry who said he was sidelined by the party after spending $27,000 on memberships is out of pocket in tune of some $27,000 plus and has filed an affidavit with Alberta Election Commission against the UCP, now trying to recover his losses after being disqualified to run as a UCP Candidate.

The million-dollar question remains as to how two prominent leaders from Muslim community can actually see themselves aligning themselves, or supporting a right-wing party leader who while in federal politics, was seen as Prime Minister Harper’s right hand man – a government clearly with an anti-Muslim agenda. A government that took so many actions, passed bills, and policies implemented to undermine the Muslim community across the country, including the infamous, “Niqab ban” during the Citizenship oath ceremony, introduced by none other than Mr. Kenney himself.

We are not sure how much of his influence, if any, the elected UCP member had been usurped to be elected. However, what we have learned from the media so far, what is unfolding in the disqualified UCP candidate’s complaint is something to review and see if we are making the similar mistakes or if our names our being used, possibly without our knowledge or consent in supporting a party or candidate.

The issue is of personal privacy. The personal information we entrust others, especially our community organizations, or at personal level to others being used as Collection of “Vote Bank” for any given party or candidate.

We inform our readers that none of the allegations contain herein have been proven in the courts and no decision has been taken by the Alberta Election Commission on these allegations.

According to August 7 article in CBC, “A former United Conservative Party member who said he was sidelined by the party after spending $27,000 on memberships and events has been contacted by an investigator from the office of Alberta's election commissioner.” The article adds, “Chaudhry is a past president of the Pakistan Canada Association.” Furthermore, “In that complaint, he alleged Jason Kenney personally asked him to help recruit members of the Pakistani community and to "give out as many memberships" as he could in order to support Kenney's leadership bid.”

"I gave away many, but I could only afford to cover $6,000 worth," he wrote in a letter to the commissioner on Dec. 28, 2018. "Mr. Kenney told me that someone else will pay for the rest."

“He said the two events cost around $20,000 in total, but the UCP never attempted to pay for either.”

So here we have an individual who is seen by community members as a leader, and in his capacity has the power to influence community members steering them in a certain political direction or support a certain political ideology.

We get little bit more insight on a similar topic from CTV article from December 24th, 2018, where Mr. Chaudhry was quoted “Chaudhry says Kenney asked him to sign up and pay for the $10-membership fee for 1,200 new members.

In an interview with Star Edmonton in December, Chaudhry said he and his friends signed up about 1,200 party members and used about $6,000 of his own cash to do so, which covered half the bunch.

“He found another sponsor for the (other) 600,” said Chaudhry. “I don’t know who did.”

Basically, 1200 community members, had apparently filled out membership forms, supporting Mr. Kenney’s leadership bid. It seems, as if, community members were asked to fill out the forms, and two individuals covered the $10 membership fees associated with the application.

“I was not happy to hear this,” Chaudhry said in the affidavit, “but on reflection concluded it was a small price to pay for the support and endorsement of the leader of the party I wanted to run for.” He told CBC

The CTV article further states, “He spent $6,000 on memberships, and an envelope full of cash was picked up by a UCP member at his home.”

This even though, “It wasn’t ethically right what Mr. Kenney asked me to do,” Chaudhry told CTV News.

“Chaudhry also claimed the Kenney campaign asked him to organize Eid Mubarak events in 2017 and 2018 “so Mr. Kenney could be seen speaking to the Edmonton Muslim Community,” the affidavit read.”

Nonetheless, its all sour grapes now. The lesson we learn from this all is we need to be extra vigilante regarding completing membership forms for the political parties, and how it could be used or misused by very those individuals whom we view as our guides into the choppy world of politics.

This should not discourage us from supporting political parties, but we should do so at our own accord after a thorough investigation.

Every Vote counts, and when we vote without doing proper due diligence on the candidates or the Parties, the result might just surprise us all.

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Article Source: ALAMEENPOST.COM