Alberto August Weighs in On Voters Bribery

When we spoke with Alberto August after the EBC meeting, we asked him to respond to Wade’s accusation. August declined to comment on Wade’s claim but openly admitted that bribery is a major problem in the electoral process.

 

Alberto August, Deputy Chair, U.D.P

“Mr Wade called you saying you are part and parcel of the problem where election offenses are concerned. He spoke specifically to bribery, saying you are mingling with that. You say what, sometimes v9oters simply want passage to go home? Maybe it is not a matter I want to speak to in terms of Mr. Wade’s utterances. You all were in there and you see the boisterous ways he was acting to the point where the police had to intervene. I would not want to comment on that. I know Mr. Wade. We are not friends. We are acquaintances. Sometimes he speaks from a standpoint of limited knowledge and that is what he did in there to the point where he wanted to get physical with the secretary general of the PUP. So I don’t want to comment much on what Mr. Wade said.”

 

Paul Lopez

“Would you agree that this is an issue, bribery and it stains this democratic process?”

 

Alberto August

“I would be disingenuous if I stand here and say this is not an issue. Of course this is an issue. There are people who come out on election day to make a little money. But there are genuine people who travel from far with the promise that come vote for me, I will pay your passage to get back from where you came. In terms of myself that might have been what he saw.”