A Step Closer to a Recall Convention to Remove Shyne as U.D.P. Party Leader
The United Democratic Party is on the verge of another convention in the days ahead, following the submission of a sheaf of documents containing signatures from delegates who demand a recall of Shyne Barrow. This afternoon, shortly after two o’clock, Vice Chairman Alberto August arrived at the U.D.P. secretariat in the company of Delroy Cuthkelvin and Roosevelt Blades. The trio of stalwarts formally presented signed petitions that would trigger a recall convention, similar to an unsuccessful attempt at removing former party leader Patrick Faber from that post in 2021. A concerted effort undertaken by erstwhile chairman August, Collet Area Representative Patrick Faber and Albert Area Representative Tracy Panton garnered a little more than the requisite number of signatures needed to trigger the recall mechanism. Those petitions will be vetted, before a decision is announced on the way forward regarding the fate of the convention. The current party leader has come under fire from factions within the U.D.P. and has been soundly criticized by his peers for his style of management.
Alberto August
Alberto August, Vice Chairman, U.D.P.
“What we have done basically today was to execute an official aspect of the constitution of our party with Article 7 of the constitution of our party which deals with the recall of the leader. For those of you who might [not] be aware of that aspect of the constitution, all that is required is for us to present one-third of the amount, signatures of one-third of the amount of delegates in our party, and that is what we did today. That is the first process. We are hoping that the verification of those signatures, the next step is for the verification of those signatures. We are hoping that that goes quickly and smoothly, just like the last time when it was done and the process continues. We are saying that we are not here to badmouth anybody in our party, it’s just that we need to move on and we understand that while we have collected two hundred and one signatures, we are hoping that that is what will proceed in terms of the recall.”
Isani Cayetano
“The letter that you wrote to the chairman of the party informed that those signatures would have been submitted to him; we note, however, that the chairman isn’t here. Can you explain that process in terms of the submission or the presentation of these signatures to the secretariat?”
Alberto August
“Well not because the chairman is not here that the process of the U.D.P. [doesn’t] continue, stops and there are always other people who can fill that gap. So not because the chairman is not there. We delivered the signatures to the secretary general of the party, a duly qualified person to receive those signatures.”
Isani Cayetano
“Okay, now triggering a recall is one thing, based on having satisfied the threshold, a hundred and seventy-two signatures, but going to a convention, a recall convention, my understanding is that you’ll need at least two-thirds of the delegates. [It] seems to be a monumental task ahead.”
Alberto August
“That’s another step in the process. The U.D.P. has been through a lot over the past two years and we are not here to continue bashing the U.D.P. We are here to unite our party, so the next step from here is to go to the delegates and we’re going to meet them in private and campaign with them.”
