P.D.P. election dispute
Since the People’s Democratic Party formed four years ago, there has never been as much internal confusion as what took place today at the offices of P.D.P. party leader, Estevan Perera. The dispute surrounds a press release sent out yesterday to the media stating that the party held a meeting on September fourth, and elected a new executive with Ivan Roberts as the new party leader. The media duly reported the seemingly innocent matter only to be informed today by the party’s chairman, Enrique Silva that Tuesday’s release, apparently orchestrated by the party’s coordinator, Ivan Roberts, is in Silva’s words “erroneous.” Silva says the party will be having its real, official election of the executive officers on October thirty-first. We caught up with both Perera and Roberts as they battled it out at the party’s main office this afternoon.
Ivan Roberts, Coordinator, P.D.P.
“The party leader was the one who called the meeting and it is his practice that if he doesn’t want something he doesn’t appear. We had been notified by Mr. Silva, that Mr. Perera had said that he has no further interest in the party and based upon that information, we then — and if you look in the minutes of the 4th — I said to the members, look we either decide if we are going to remain together or we are going to dismantle. Everybody except for one, who was Miss Gloria Bowen, she abstained, everybody else said we must keep the party together. Based on that we proceeded.”
Estevan Perera, Party Leader, P.D.P.
“I think Mr. Roberts is not saying it properly. What I did say to my colleagues here, is that I am no longer interested in being a party leader, as I am tired having to be taking the blame for everything. For one, I was blamed for not organizing properly. For two, I was blamed for not having sufficient funds for everybody. Three, I had to get all the meetings together, get the speakers, the equipment.
By the time I got on the rostrum I was fatigued; I was tired and I said that would not take place again. So we would have to select a new leader and even if Mr. Roberts becomes the leader, I have no problems with that, as long as it is done professionally. We have to have a quorum. At that meeting he mentioned there was never a quorum; there was not even two thirds.”
Q: “So who is the party leader right now?”
Ivan Roberts
“Well, if we go by the minutes, I am. If we go by Mr. Perera, he is.”
Enrique Silva, Party Chairman
“But indeed, Mr. Perera was notified about some meetings and it took some time, but at the same time I think there were some aggressiveness in Mr. Roberts by going ahead and doing what he did.”
Silva says as chairman of the People’s Democratic Party he should have been the one to call the meeting that took place on September fourth, since he did not it is invalid. Silva says Estevan Perera remains as party leader until the results of the elections scheduled for October thirty-first are in.
