Spencer

ST JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC – The main opposition Antigua Labour Party (ALP) Monday called on Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer to reverse his decision to name a known party supporter as a member of the independent Antigua and Barbuda Electoral Commission (ABEC).

In a statement, the ALP said that newspaper reports indicate that the ruling United Progressive Party (UPP) will appoint Juno Samuel as a member of the ABEC.

It reminds the Prime Minister that he had requested the suspension of the ALP’s nominees to the ABEC on the grounds of engaging in “partisan political activity”, but is now moving to appoint a known UPP political activist to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of one of the Commissioners.

“Mr. Samuel is a past educator who regularly participates in UPP activities, speaks in favour of the UPP publicly, and has rallied against the ALP and its leaders countless times,” the opposition party said in its statement.

“The ALP calls on the people and residents of Antigua and Barbuda to stand guard over our democracy…there is no justification for naming Juno Samuel as an Electoral Commissioner,” the ALP said, adding that it was condemning his nomination as “morally vacuous and fittingly hypocritical”.

The two political parties have been at loggerheads ever since Governor General Dame Louise Lake-Tack announced the suspension of three ABEC members including the  Commission’s chairman Sir Gerald Watt QC and his deputy Nathaniel James.

In May, the Governor General announced that she had written to the Chief Justice of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court seeking assistance with the establishment of a tribunal to investigate the three ABEC members, after Prime Minister Spencer had written to her outlining what he termed breaches of the electoral law allegedly committed by them.

In his letter, the Prime Minister said the breaches included the delayed opening of polling stations in the March 12, 2009 general election and a severely tainted voters’ list and that citizens are entitled to have an Electoral Commission that is capable of exercising its functions under the law.

He noted that on Election Day, March 12, 2009, it became clear within hours of the start of voting that the Commission was not ready or able to conduct the elections as required by law and expected by the people of the state.

On March 31, Justice Louise Blenman ruled that the election of Spencer, Tourism Minister John Maginley and Education Minister Jacqui Quinn-Leandro was invalid, throwing the United Progressive Party (UPP) administration into a tailspin.

The judge based her ruling on polling day irregularities, particularly the long delays before voting began in the three constituencies.

The Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal is expected to hand down a ruling soon on that matter.