Samantha Marshall For St. Marys South

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Politics

Friday, 13 July 2012 02:30

By caribarena news

Antigua St John's - Casworth Aaron, Chairman of the St. Marys South Constituency branch of the Antigua Labour Party (ALP) has said that the body stands firm in its decision to allow Samantha Marshall to represent its interests in the next general elections and has communicated its position to the ALP Executive.

Aaron’s comments come in response to media reports that Pascal Williams, who has also expressed interest in representing the party in that constituency, has reached out to Marshall requesting a meeting on the way forward.

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“I, as Chairman of the Antigua & Barbuda Labour Party (ALP) St. Marys South Constituency Branch, have been in touch with Ms. Marshall who is abroad, to establish the accuracy of that news broadcast and she has denied any such intention,” Aaron said.

He added that Ms. Marshall , who was the ALP candidate in the last general elections, “has no need” to meet with Mr. Williams, and that the branch has duly notified the party’s executive of their choice of candidate for the upcoming election.

“(Ms. Marshall) recognizes that despite the fact he (Pascal Williams) has resided in Canada for upwards of forty (40) years, he has all rights as every qualified Antiguan to seek high office,” he said. “This matter as far as we are concerned is settled and we are busy campaigning to win this seat for the ALP at the next election.”

One of the requirements to run for political office is, at a bare minimum, that the candidate be a member of the political party in question before being nominated by the constituency branch to contest the post. Mr. Aaron asserted that Williams is not in fact a member of the ALP.

Attempts to reach Pascal Williams were unsuccessful.

According to ALP General Secretary Mary-Clare Hurst, Williams is approaching the situation in the wrong way. She acknowledged receipt of a letter from Mr. Williams indicating his interest in contesting the branch seat.

But Hurst says: “Mr. Williams cannot write directly to me. He is going about it the wrong way. He has to write to the secretary of the branch and that letter would then be forwarded to me and I will read it on the correspondence to the executive and a response would be sent.”

So although Hurst has the letter, she has no power to act on it because it should have come through the “active”  St. Marys South constituency branch.

After this channel is followed, the ALP executive would have sought to determine the suitability of the proposed candidate through a series of assessments that include financial standing, duration of membership in the ALP.

“I am just hearing rhetoric and that is not going to help him. There is a time factor. You have to be a member of the organization. You have to be in good financial standing for at least a month,” Hurst said.

The ALP General Secretary suggested that Mr. Williams get a copy of the constitution and understand the procedures.



She said Williams must stop his “aimless” approach and follow the procedures. If he feels failed by the branch then he could seek an audience with the executive, but that failure cannot be determined without following the right procedures.

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