Faber is Eligible to Challenge Leadership Post If He Wants To

Patrick Faber

Is the tenure of the present United Democratic Party executive redundant?  It’s a charge that Patrick Faber made on Friday in a letter written to Chairman Mike Peyrefitte.  Faber suggested that the seats being occupied by the existing committee have since expired.  When we asked Peyrefitte about a national convention to elect a new executive, he explained that the process is usually held on an odd year.  Likewise, he said that Faber would be eligible to contest his seat in a subsequent leadership convention if he chooses.

Mike Peyrefitte

Mike Peyrefitte, Chairman, U.D.P.

“National conventions for the entire leadership of the party are only called in every odd year. So what happens is that it is now 2022 and national convention for all offices in the party are due in 2023. So you cannot put something to be considered by the party that the constitution says cannot be considered. So why would you even consider that, and the only reason there was a national convention in 2020 was that it was because it was the end of a parliamentary term and the Right Honorable Dean Barrow was retiring. So in that case, the party took a position that it was in an emergency situation and therefore, 2020 not being an odd year, would be a year for a national convention. The national convention can be held in a year that’s not an odd if an emergency is declared by the chairman. I don’t see any need for an emergency type national convention, you only have one person that has indicated that he wanted to resign and the rest of the people will continue until 2023 until we have a national convention. I don’t know what the ethics committee would do, but technically yes, he can run again. You would remember when the honorable John Saldivar had resigned after becoming leader elect, there was a subsequent election to choose just the leader because he resigned and then he ran again.  So technically, he can run again although from what he has said to us in the N.P.C., he said that for sure he will not run again. But of course, it’s his option to run again if he so chooses.”