James Hails Sir Gerald's Victory

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Politics

Friday, 27 January 2012 02:31

By Colin Sampson

Antigua St John's - Nathaniel “Paddy” James has hailed the near-complete victory that the High Court handed to Sir Gerald Watt as a well-deserved vindication of the former ABEC chairman.

James, who is returning to the Antigua & Barbuda Electoral Commission as Opposition Leader Lester Bird’s nominee for deputy chairman, said he takes moral satisfaction from Sir Gerald’s court victory over Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer, the governor general, and freshly re-appointed ABEC Chair Juno Samuel.

In fact, James, who, along with then chair Sir Gerald Watt and Electoral Commissioner Lionel “Max” Hurst was subjected to an investigative tribunal following the 2009 general elections fiasco, welcomed the vindication of Sir Gerald as, by extension, a vindication of himself.

James noted that the investigative tribunal had found no fault either with his own performance, nor with that of Sir Gerald. He therefore took strong objection to Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer’s subsequent removal of Sir Gerald from his rightful position as chairman of ABEC, and viewed this as a ploy to circumvent the tribunal's decision.
The ABEC deputy chair pointed to the difference in the manner of Sir Gerald’s appointment as chairman, compared to his own appointment as deputy chair.

James, upon being appointed deputy chair of ABEC on the nomination of the leader of the ALP parliamentary opposition, had received one single instrument of appointment. Sir Gerald, on the other hand, had received two separate instruments of appointment: one appointing him as an electoral commissioner, and another appointing him chairman of ABEC.

It was, James said, on this spurious basis that Sir Gerald’s appointment as chairman was rescinded, relegating him to the status of ordinary electoral commissioner. The deputy chair has always regarded this procedure as flawed, and was gratified that Justice Remy saw fit to condemn that action by the prime minister, declaring it illegal.

The long-serving deputy chair re-emphasized his conviction that Samuel, who in his view and that of the court was unlawfully appointed ABEC chair, replacing Sir Gerald Watt, was a servant of political interests, carrying out the will of the political directorate. Samuel, James said, followed a pattern of behaviour formerly pursued by Ambassador Bruce Goodwin, who served as ABEC chair during Sir Gerald’s period of suspension.


Under the chairmanship of Bruce Goodwin and Samuel, a number of personnel transfers took place, carried out by both chairmen despite the objections of the other electoral commissioners. On several occasions, James said, Samuel took actions on his own authority as ABEC chair, based on his own interpretation of the Representation of the People Act, as amended.

James was, therefore pleased by Justice Remy’s ruling that following on Samuel's illegal appointment, any and all actions taken by him during his initial chairmanship are null and void, since his own appointment as ABEC Chair was in fact a nullity. James said he was looking forward to the reinstatement of all those staff members who were adversely affected by Samuel’s solo decisions.

See related stories:

Ruling Returns Watt to Position

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