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   The anticipation in the House of Assembly on Tuesday morning was seething. The media had already got wind of the opposition’s intent to walk out of the House if the government did not nominate a deputy speaker from its ranks. It would not be the first time the Opposition had walked out in a fit but in this election charged atmosphere this kind of move meant headlines for reporters looking for a political angle to stories.
The issue of the day was that all the government parliamentarians were members of Cabinet and were therefore not eligible for nomination.
The former deputy speaker, Marcus Nicholas, who is also the Dennery North MP, resigned his post in the House of Assembly on August 29. He now sits as an independent MP alongside Micoud North MP Jeannine Compton-Antoine.
Nicholas walked into the House on Tuesday to be met with cheers from the opposition MP’s and looks of amusement from his former party colleagues.
The first issue of business on the Order Paper for the day was the election of a deputy Speaker. Speaker Dr Rosemary Husbands-Mathurin invited nominations for the post and was met with silence throughout the entire Chamber.
She said, “Members, I take notice that the House has given sufficient evidence that it is not convenient to elect a deputy speaker at this time.”
Castries East MP Philip J Pierre interjected to request the Speaker explain the reasons for postponing the election of a deputy speaker to the next sitting of parliament.
The Speaker said, “The House has put forward no nominations for deputy Speaker. How am I supposed to proceed? The government has not put forward a nomination. The independents have not put forward a nomination. The opposition has not put forward a nomination. The House is not prepared to elect a deputy Speaker at this time.”
Pierre asserted the Speaker’s decision was “out of order.” In spite of the accusation, the Speaker held her ground saying “I understand the political realities before me but I must be allowed to make a decision on what the interpretation of the Constitution is. Every member of this House has given evidence that this is not a convenient time to do it . . . I now give notice to the House that the election of the deputy Speaker will be on the order paper of the next sitting and the House will find it convenient to resolve the matter.”
Pierre accused the House of engaging in illegalities and said, “It is almost prostitution this honourable House.”
Despite the accusations, the Speaker stated that the business of the people will continue.
Opposition Leader Dr Kenny Anthony stood to announce that the Speaker’s ruling was an “issue of lawfulness.” He disputed that Section 35 of the Constitution does not deal with the operational procedure currently facing the House. Section 35(3) states: “No business shall be transacted in the House (other than the election of a Speaker) at any time when the office of Speaker is vacant.”
It goes further to say in subsection (6): “At any time when , by virtue of section 34(3) of this Constitution, the Speaker is unable to perform the functions of his office, those functions shall, until he vacates his seat in the House or resumes the performance of the function of his office, be performed by the Deputy Speaker or, if the office of Deputy Speaker is vacant or the Deputy Speaker is required to cease to perform his function as a member of the House by virtue of that subsection, by such member of the House (not being a member of the Cabinet or a Parliamentary Secretary) as the House may elect for the purpose.”
Anthony further proposed the House deal with Section 36 of the Constitution which says: “(1) When the House first meets after any general election of members and before it proceeds to the despatch of any other business except the election of the Speaker, the House shall elect a member of the House, who is not a member of the Cabinet or a Parliamentary Secretary, to be Deputy Speaker of the House and if the office of Deputy Speaker falls vacant at any time before the next dissolution of Parliament, the House shall, as soon as convenient, elect another member of the House to that office.”
The opposition leader accused the Speaker of using her position to further the agenda of the ruling party, a claim the Speaker firmly refuted.
In the uproar that followed, the opposition members refused to stay seated and stood in their positions, making it clear they had no intention of taking part in the people’s business of the day. In light of this, the Speaker took no issue with their protest and continued the business of the House as usual. Having been ignored, the opposition staged a walk out with its leader shouting in protest while Prime Minister Stephenson King was on his feet laying papers in his name.
The Speaker stopped the prime minister to “allow the disorder to leave the Chamber.” Philip J Pierre was the lone opposition MP left. He gave a short speech about not leaving the House “in disorder” before he joined his colleagues on the outside.
As the opposition members left the premises, a crowd formed outside on the perimeter of Parliament. Some people cheered in support of the opposition while others expressed their disgust because “we elected y’all to serve for us. Look the prime minister going and borrow how much money and y’all have nothing to say about that. Y’all not feeling it! Is us that feeling it in our pocket!” Someone else shouted, “They right! Too much nonsense going on in parliament!” while another said “Y’all fellas selfish! Who are you saying you represent when you do foolishness like this? It’s not for us. It’s all about the votes.” A woman stood quietly at the corner of Constitution Park and William Peter Boulevard and told this reporter, “It doesn’t matter whether they call elections now. They all say they are for the people but they don’t know we are choosing between the lesser of two evils because the more things change, the more they remain the same.”

   George ‘Fish’ Alphonse told the STAR on Wednesday that he was very surprised when he opened up our weekend newspaper to see a poem by Nobel Laureate Derek Walcott dedicated to him.
“It was very humbling. I went over the words several times. I feel so blessed. Derek Walcott’s recognition means more than anything,” he said of the poem which was entitled ‘The War of Flowers.’ The poem was published in the same week the nation marked the celebration of the La Rose Festival (August 30). The other flower festival celebration, La Marguerite, will be marked on
October 17.
Walcott’s poem, which was published exclusively in this newspaper, speaks of the “woundless wars” between the two flowers that amazes the award-winning local poet.
Writes Walcott: “They are, as none supposes/ together not apart;/ violet is the daisy, the rose is/ the banner of the heart. Would that our scarred earth could contain/ such a sweet violence/ these flowers fighting to remain/ not enemies, but friends.”
Alphonse is currently the Special Events Officer at the Cultural Development Foundation and is well known as a cultural activist.
He told the STAR: “The poem made me feel as if I was getting somewhere even though the country has not realized that as yet. At least there is someone who understands the importance of trying to preserve our flower festivals, so
that our culture remains vibrant. Someone who understands the battle of the flowers is not a brutal one. Anything I can do to ensure that people understand the culture of the flowers, the deep meaning, I will do. I was not even aware he [Walcott] was paying attention and it is humbling. This is the honourable Derek Walcott who knows culture and understands what it is about and what it should be doing and somewhere along the lines I guess he heard my calls on certain things as far as it relates to the festivals. I am honoured and humbled.”
Alphonse says the poem also had a deeper meaning to him.
“This piece was about the society at large, I think,” he said of his interpretation. “We could be at war but not wounding each other or trying to kill each other, whether it be with words or weapons. We are in an election year but elections is not a war, it is a
democratic process every five years. So when I hear some people speak as if they are at war it is troubling and cause for concern. But reading the poem with Derek Walcott saying that though two festivals like La Rose and La Marguerite are at war but they could live in harmony. There is so much to the poem. It is a wake up call to St Lucians.”
Alphonse explains that it has been difficult trying to keep the nuance of the island’s flower festivals alive, especially as they are now competing with carnival festivities that were moved from February to July some years ago.
“You cannot be putting all that money into one event, that is Carnival, and ignoring the other events on the island’s cultural calendar,” Alphonse said. “We are talking about holistic cultural development so by putting most of your resources towards one event, in a way you are suppressing the others. We only have a budget for the day of La Rose and La Marguerite. Where is the budget for the development of these festivals, organizing training and so on? And after Carnival in July it is difficult for people to transition into events like Emancipation, La Rose and La Marguerite. There needs to be time so these events get the attention they deserve.”
Alphonse hopes that Walcott’s poem about the festivals ignites the interest of the public, especially the younger generation.
“These festivals have helped to shape me into what I am today,” he said.
“It is about aspirations. At the celebrations you have people dressing up as doctors, policemen, nurses, it is about aspiring to be more. This is the subtext of the culture that people don’t understand. I think it is unfair that our young people of today are deprived of the right to know their culture and let it shape who they are. And I will continue to push to ensure that these festivals do not die. We need more groups in more communities around St Lucia to embrace this.”

   Marcus Nicholas’ Resignation

The resignation of yet another Member of Parliament (MP) ahead of the next General Elections piles up the pressure on Prime Minister Stephenson King to call the election early, rather than later.

Dennery North MP Marcus Nicholas threw in the towel this week and pulled his support from the ruling United Workers party (UWP) after the party announced, more than a month ago, that he would not be contesting the next poll on its behalf.

UWP Vice Chairman Oswald Augustin told reporters and local talk shows in early August that Nicholas had agreed to step down and the party was seeking a replacement. But Nicholas had made no such statement. Instead, Nicholas accused the party of dumping him, to which Augustin indicated he’s not been fired, but merely replaced.

Between Augustin’s announcement of his replacement and his resignation, Nicholas had been quiet. But all that changed this week when Nicholas went public.

The MP said he’d long decided to break ranks with the UWP after the party’s leadership started acting against his interests. He said monies allocated for expenditure in his constituency were officially diverted to the neighbouring Dennery South Constituency.

Nicholas also said his party colleagues were undermining him with negative statements and sullying his political character and claimed projects earmarked for his constituency were being officially delayed or prevented from being implemented.

The UWP leadership, in response, is claiming Nicholas was failed MP who did not adequately represent his constituents and was unable to assure his re-election. It has therefore chosen Andy Daniel, a lawyer and ex-magistrate, to be its next candidate for the Dennery North seat

Interestingly, Daniel was the magistrate who dismissed all the nine traffic charges against Nicholas in 2007 following a high-speed police car chase involving a car driven by the MP and a female companion. In this controversial case, the magistrate dismissed all the charges at the first hearing on account of the claimed unavailability of the prosecutor’s files, which mysteriously re-surfaced at the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions after the case was dismissed.

Daniel I also the “half brother” of Dennery MP Edmund Estephane, who was also arrested on a traffic charge in 2007, and which case also never saw the light of day.

Nicholas has, historically, always been a very loose cannon. But his list of grievances is as long as his stewardship as a MP since his election in December 2006.

After UWP Leader Sir Jon Compton mistakenly named each of his eleven winning candidates as a Cabinet Minister, he had to withdraw one to serve as Deputy Speaker of the House of Assembly. The hammer fell on Nicholas, who ha earlier been named Junior Agriculture Minister. He was disappointed, but had no choice but to accept the post, which, under parliamentary law, has to be held by a non-Cabinet MP from the Government side.

Nicholas never hid his annoyance at being kept out of the Cabinet, but he didn’t rock the boat. He was accused by party critics of using his annual Taiwanese political funding for a combination of reasons and activities, not all associated with politics. (Indeed, the Chairman of the UWP’s Dennery North Constituency group, Gania Joseph, said this week that one of the reasons her party dumped Marcus Nicholas was because of his “mishandling of the Taiwanese projects monies.” She accused him of employing chosen contractors for project funded by the Taiwanese, in return for percentage kickbacks.)

The unpredictable MP also created a stir nationally and embarrassed his colleagues about a year ago when reports here from London were that he’d been arrested or detained by British police for illegal and inappropriate conduct involving a resident female adult St. Lucian student whose bills he pays. Nicholas was not jailed, but the UWP leadership quietly slapped him on the wrist.

Many who know him say Nicholas long concluded he would not be allowed to contest the next poll for his party and decided to bide his time before making his break at an appropriate time when it would be most felt.

Problems and Consequences

The UWP has been playing down his resignation from the party, but it presents some serious political and parliamentary problems and consequences for the Prime Minister and the ruling party.

First, Nicholas’ resignation follows that of Jeannine Compton (the Micoud North MP and daughter of the late Sir John Compton), who, like Nicholas, cited similar reasons: being sidelined by the party leadership and starved of constituency funding o projects from central Government.

In both cases too, the resigned MPs claim they were not supported by the Bousquet-Frederick faction of the party, which wields significant power in the candidate selection process, but is also a source of worry for the Prime Minister and Party Leader.

This faction tried to impose Frederick’s Sister to replace Jeanine Compton as its candidate for Micoud North, but PM King, sensing the political implications for balance-of-power within his party leadership, declined and settled for the chosen replacement, Gail Rigobert.

Similarly, the Bousquet-Frederick faction wanted their preferred candidate Mike Chitolie to be the party’s candidate for Vieux Fort South against Opposition Leader Dr Kenny D. Anthony. However, King – again sensing danger — settled for three-time loser Karl Daniel (who lost as a candidate in three different constituencies in the last three general elections).

The rise of the Bousquet-Frederick faction has been a lingering headache for Prime Minister King, as these are his two main sources of opposition within his Cabinet, both of whom also have formidable access to resources and together command important ministerial portfolios. This much has long been detected by Washington, with a leaked Wikileaks report indicating the US Embassy filed a report back in 2008, indicating that if Frederick lost a Customs tax evasion case in the courts, it would relieve King and “allow the PM to consolidate his shaky base of power.” (See attached Wikileaks reports)

Nicholas’ resignation, coupled with Ms Compton’s have also both highlighted the quiet but very real factional problems associated with their replacements, with the still more powerful king faction ensuring it keeps the balance of power between candidates in its favour.

The UWP, which piled its support behind Nicholas in 2006, has never been able to nurse an effective candidate for Dennery North, where it is also opposed by another major former UWP Cabinet Minister Ausbert d’Auvergne.

Like Nicholas – but perhaps even more – d’Auvergne has every reason to hate King and the UWP leadership. He effectively designed the UWP’s last campaign after folding-up his New Democratic Movement (NDM) party to join his religious Godfather’s party as its main strategist.

Following the elections, Sir John appointed d’Auvergne to the Senate and appointed him as the Minister with responsibility for economic planning and national development. But his appointment did not go down well with elected members like Bousquet and Frederick, who felt an unelected Senator ought not to have such Cabinet power.

After Sir John died, King as PM was forced to consolidate his base and in order to secure his selection as PM had to negotiate the individual support of each MP.

Bousquet, Frederick and Nicholas each negotiated conditions and concessions that resulted in Bousquet’s return to the Cabinet (after being fired by Sir John over the Taiwan palace coup he led in April 2007) and return of certain ministerial and departmental powers to Frederick.

Nicholas was assured his share of Taiwanese funding would continue to flow, even if he did not get the Cabinet post he so longed for, given Ms Compton’s unwillingness to accept the Deputy Speaker’s post when she too was kept out of the Cabinet.

However, the concessions and promises that Bousquet and Frederick wrung out of King both spelt the end for d’Auvergne. He was dismissed by King to make way for Bousquet to return to cabinet and some of the powerful departmental responsibilities he held –like responsibility for the National Development Corporation (NDC) and Environmental Affairs, respectively, were reassigned to Bousquet and Frederick, respectively.

Later, d’Auvergne, who always has political ambitions to become the MP for Dennery North, used his international project management contacts to arrange a much-needed water project for the Dennery valleys, which was supported by the European Union. D’Auvergne claimed all that was needed for its implementation was the Prime Minister’s endorsement, but King rejected it because it would have earned d’Auvergne – who was already opposed to him for dismissing him — political capital in the constituency ahead of the next general elections.

D’Auvergne, though not a MP, is expected to oppose the UWP tooth-and-nail in the upcoming poll. He has once again indicated he wants to have his NDM contest the next general election, with him contesting for Dennery North. Besides, he caused a significant dent in the UWP and the government’s efforts to pin Opposition leader Kenny Anthony on the Grynberg seabed matter by pointing out that King had signed an extension agreement with the company involved without due diligence – just as much as he was now accusing Anthony.

It’s too early to conclude whether Jeannine Compton, Marcus Nicholas and Ausbert d’Auvergne will wear red shirts at some time during the rest of the election campaign. But Nicholas’s resignation has led to an early numbers problem for the government and the Prime Minister in Parliament.

The UWP originally had an 11-6 majority in the parliament after the last election. However, the resignations of Compton and Nicholas have now reduced the government’s majority to 9.

The government’s 9-8 majority (6 SLP and 2 Independent MPs) puts it in unenviable position with a one-seat majority in the parliament – something no prime minister wants and a situation that forced Sir John Compton to resort to extra-parliamentary tactics to consolidate his parliamentary majority in 1987 after the electorate twice returned a 9-8 result at general elections held within 21 days of each other.

Parliamentary Conundrum

With the pressure on him to call the next general elections earlier than later, Prime Minister King faces a parliamentary conundrum. He has to ensure every member of his team of nine is present at every parliamentary sitting — failing which the Opposition Labour Party MPs and the two Independent (former UWPs) can defeat any government bill through a Vote of No Confidence motion.

An earlier Labour Government led by Sir Allan Louisy fell during the leadership struggle crisis that followed Labour’s thumping 1979 victory over the UWP after George Odlum moved a Vote of No Confidence against his Prime Minister that was supported by the opposition UWP, which went on to return to office after the general elections that followed.

When faced with his two 9-8 result rebuffs in 1987, Sir John reached across the aisle and recruited a major Labour MP, Laborie MP Neville Cenac to cross the floor to his side in return for the position of Foreign Affairs Minister. That consolidated his government with a 10-7 majority at the beginning of a new term.

However, in King’s case today, the opposite is the case: It is practically useless, if not impossible, for him to get a Labour MP to cross the floor at this point, when a general election is imminent and the government is becoming increasingly politically unpopular.

Potential Political Costs

When he puts his cards on the table the Prime Minister, who is under pressure from the Bousquet-Frederick faction to delay the poll as much as possible to improve their prospects, also has to consider the potential electoral costs of a delay at a time when government scandals are being exposed by the opposition almost weekly.

Investors are holding off on investments, many having filed official complaints to the Prime Minister regarding approaches by ministers for paybacks and other corrupt arrangements as conditions for supporting their projects.

Opposition Leader Kenny Anthony on August 7 disclosed and a local newspaper published a sworn statement by a contractor outlining a list of payments he claimed were made by him to Choiseul MP and Foreign Affairs Minister Rufus Bousquet, at the latter’s request, in return for a contract funded by the Taiwanese.

The Opposition also last week called on the Prime Minister to declare his hand on the matter of direct funding of election campaigns of government candidates, after a close political operative of Castries Central MP and Housing Minister Richard Frederick disclosed that “Castries Central can account for every cent of the five million dollars given to it” by the Taiwanese. SLP Leader Kenny Anthony said this was more confirmation that some ruling party MPs were receiving more than the one million dollars each were said to be receiving annually from the Taiwanese.

International agencies and investors are taking a hands-off approach to the government’s invitations to invest in its controversial international airport expansion project, as more questions are raised about the legality and transparency of the financial and contract arrangements involving related ministers.

PM King, reading the political tea leaves through his party cards, realizes he has no aces in the pack. His only trump card is the election date – which only he can decide. But how and when he plays that card will also have serious consequences for the end game.

On the other hand, the St. Lucia Labour Party’s electoral chances seem to be improving by the day, since every ruling party and government mishap helps its campaign.

Labour has been avoiding being sidetracked by the Grynberg allegations and the government’s hiring of an expensive British law firm to see how best to burden the Opposition Leader with legal charges of maladministration.

Revelations of the existence of copies of a Grynberg successor agreement with Prime Minister King’s signature has thrown a major spoke in the wheel of the government’s Grynberg assault. But the issue hasn’t been (and isn’t likely to be) dropped by Rick Wayne, Publisher of the Star Newspaper, whose new role for some time has been as PM King’s acknowledged main unofficial personal PR advisor and sometimes speechwriter.

Wayne, largely distrusted on both sides of the political fence on account of his own political history, has for the past six months been conducting a fierce anti-Kenny Anthony campaign through his newspaper, fueled by his continuing vengeance against Anthony for dismissing him from the Senate and the increasing likelihood that Anthony and the SLP can win the next general elections.

Battling cancer offshore in the USA from where he conducts his local “anti-Kenny” via the internet, Wayne’s “Talk” TV show has long been silent. Bt he’s made it absolutely clear that when it comes to opposing Kenny Anthony and the SLP and trying to ensure they do not form the next government, he will lave no stone unturned in his last charge before the next poll.

Anthony and the SLP seem to be avoiding fights and concentrating on political mobilization at the constituency level. With the benefit of hindsight and the lessons of 2006, it hopes to ensure every supporter votes to avoid the complacency that led to the stay-home factor that resulted in loss of the election by just two thousand votes.

At a disadvantage without government or Taiwanese funding and with local government bodies under government control and financed by the Taiwanese, Opposition MPs are concentrating on ensuring every vote counts in their boxes while highlighting the unfair tactics of starving their constituencies of official assistance and sidelining elected MPs not in their camp.

Opposition MPs now all claim they feel less threatened by their UWP opponents, but are finding it tough to be financially fit on the campaign trail against competitors fueled by Taiwanese money.

New opposition candidates are also gaining ground, especially Emma Hippolyte in Gros Islet and Alvina Reynolds in Babonneau, who are going up against two formidable UWP MPs in two of the island’s largest constituencies.

There is no evidence that the SLP has been able to garner any significant campaign financing to reach anywhere matching the UWP. The current economic situation facing traditional donors has limited or prevented them from contributing to the SLP’s campaign coffers as the party would have liked, which is troubling some party leaders.

But the SLP’s money troubles haven’t affected its following, with mobilization increasing as the election draws nearer, as indicated at the August 7 launching of its Choiseul candidate Lorne Theophilus, who has already been given the lead (ahead of incumbent MP Rufus Bousquet) by most pundits.

The SLP has not yet started talking about its manifesto, but its Leader has been giving snippets of what his party’s policies would be next time in government, with every major public campaign address. The UWP, on the other hand, has been citing selective figures from international financial institutions to claim major comparative regional economic management kudos during its first term.

The Last Lap

With the election imminent, the two parties are preparing to make Dennery North their major final battleground. Apart from Labour’s Emma Hippolyte in Gros Islet, each party has only one candidate left to launch: that for Dennery North. Both candidates have been selected and after each is launched it will be the final leg to the winning post.

Prime Minister King is expected to set and name the election date soon after the Dennery North launch of the UWP’s Andy Daniel, while Emma Hippolyte’s launching is expected to be Labour’s last grand electoral parade ahead of the poll.

Once these three launchings get out of the way, the UWP and the SLP – and any other third parties able to field a list of candidates – will let their horses off in the final race, to see which party will be the first to past the post.

   Darvin Edwards spent two years away from athletics through injury and lack of finances. Imagine what the soon-to-be 25-year-old (in exactly two weeks) could have accomplished but for those two lost years.
Really, though, no need to imagine. Edwards is sitting pretty at the top of the world, with an amazing year that is not even over. He matched his St Lucia National Record and personal–best mark of 2.25 metres (m) earlier this year, improved to 2.27m, and then went on to clear 2.28m, a new National Record and an Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States record. More importantly, it was the qualifying standard for the 2011 World Championships in Athletics and the 2012 Olympic Games in London, England.
Edwards lives in England and trains and competes with Belgrave Harriers, under the watchful eyes of Trevor Llewelyn, who accompanied the young man to Worlds.
Going into the qualifying rounds Tuesday morning on a sunny day in Daegu, South Korea, at the IAAF World Championships in Athletics, his first aim was to just make the final, either automatically by clearing 2.31m, or as one of the 12 best jumpers. He cleared at 2.16m and 2.21m, but missed his first trial at 2.25m–it was to be his only miss.
He went on to conquer 2.25m, soared over at 2.28m and then set new benchmarks for himself, his nation and his sub-region by going over at 2.31m, the first to do so in Group A. Group A, by the way, only included the man with the best height in the world so far this year, American champion Jesse Williams, and former World Champion Donald Thomas of the Bahamas.
“When I missed at 2.25m, it was a good jump,” mused Edwards, in the moments immediately following his leap. “The only problem was my run-up. I had to adjust it, make tiny adjustments. At 2.28m I brought my run-up back and started working the ground to get more penetration and speed. My coach mentioned to me that I went through the motion of driving my arms slowly at 2.28m and if I wanted to go over 2.31 I needed to drive them much quicker to get more rotation.”
Edwards was one of just two men to set a personal–best mark in qualifying, and one of only three to complete the competition with no more than one miss at any height. His performance was exactly what you would ask of a champion-giving of his very best on the biggest stage of his career so far. And a bigger stage is still to come, as he will now compete in Thursday’s final.
“The job has just been done halfway,” said the prolific high jumper. His goal for the final, Thursday morning St Lucia time is to at least break the National Record again.
“I saw this happening way back in his early days at Entrepot Secondary,” remarked Gregory Lubin, who was instrumental in getting Edwards off the basketball court and into athletics. “At first, he was not really excited about high jump, but you could see the potential, the raw power. Myself and [Cuban coach] Noup Acosta really worked hard to convince him.”
Prior to Tuesday morning’s performance, his only international exposure for 2011 had been a bronze medal at the Central American and Caribbean Championships in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. Given that one of his stated goals is to better his performance from Worlds when he heads to London 2012, God willing, it appears Edwards will be getting a lot more exposure. Hopefully, he can also be in an even better position to improve and better represent St Lucia.

   Saint Lucians will know for certain who will replace Marcus Nicholas as Deputy Speaker of the House of Assembly later this month when the House meets to complete its legislative agenda for the year. The VOICE has learned that the House still has some matters to attend to, mostly bills to deal with, before the year’s agenda is completed.
It was Monday, August 29 that Nicholas informed the country via the media that he had had enough with the governing United Workers Party (UWP) and had therefore resigned from the party and his position as Deputy House Speaker. The VOICE confirmed that Nicholas’ resignation letter reached the Parliamentary Office Wednesday morning.
UWP Chairman Clem Bobb has declared that this latest move will in no way hamper the party in its bid for another term in office.
According to Prime Minister Stephenson King, Nicholas’ resignation is democracy at work within the UWP organization. His explanation was simply that, “people come and people go, no one holds anyone. The party is all about democratic rule.”
As for Nicholas’ resignation hurting the party’s chance at the coming polls, Ezechiel Joseph, who is one of the deputy leaders of the party, believes this is impossible.
Nicholas’ resignation came as a surprise, although persons connected with the politics within his Dennery North Constituency may have been less taken aback due to his avowed dissatisfaction with the party over the past months. In one incident, he called on Prime Minister King to decide once and for all whether he is indeed the leader of the country; and that as leader he should not sleep and work with people who would divide and rule his government.
Nicholas has been replaced by Andy Daniel, an attorney, to contest the upcoming general elections for the United Worker’s Party.
(Adapted from an article filed by VOICE reporter Micah George)