Antiguans and Barbudans are expected to return to the polls in less than 120 days to vote in a by-election after the Parliamentary Representative for St Marys South, Kelvin ‘Shuggy’ Simon, resigned from his position
Simon’s seat has been a matter of contention since the January 18 general elections after he was taken to court for failing to resign before he was nominated.
According to the constitution of Antigua and Barbuda, a public servant must resign before being nominated to run in any general elections. Simon, who contested the election on a United Progressive Party ticket, worked as a guidance counselor within the Ministry of Education.
The matter, which is now before the court, was due to be heard sometime next month but Simon resigned before the judge could rule on the issue, saying in a press statement that “it is unfair to the people of St Mary’s South to have this uncertainty hanging over their heads. This situation needs to be resolved without further delay.”
He added, “I want this matter to be settled by the people, not by the court. The constituents of St Mary’s South elected me convincingly before, and I am confident that they will do so again in a by-election.”
Simon who was said the legal matter was also creating a lot of hindrances where his line of work is concerned
“We know how long appeals can take and I am not prepared as an MP to sit and wait on a court for years while I cannot get anything done for the people of St Mary’s South,” he said.
According to the 2002 Representation of the People (Amendment) Act, “…In the case of a by-election, the writ shall be issued as soon as practicable after the seat has become vacant.”
Meanwhile, Simon said that he is confident of his victory at the polls, stating that this will create conditions for a “clean break and reset”.
Antigua and Barbuda’s Prime Minister Gaston Browne said he is confident that the seat will be retained by his party.
The party had selected Samantha Marshal as their candidate, who Simon beat by almost 200 votes in the last elections.
Marshal was the only one in the ruling party who lost her seat. She was given a position in the downsized Cabinet of the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party.
This shows that Antiguans are more politically savy than most Dominicans. Additionally it underscores that Gaston Brown has less influence on the criminal justice system in Antigua, than our corrupt PM has here in corrupt Dominica.
In Dominica this would drag on for another FIVE years! What a corrupt country Dominica is!!!!!! .OMG!!
Well done Antiguans..Do way with corrupt politicians who pontificate that the law or the constitution is not for them, but for their opponents.