Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party candidate for St. Mary’s South, Sen. Samantha
Marshall, said she and her team are ready for the by-election whenever it is called,
following the court ruling on Wednesday that paved the way for a return to the
polls in that constituency.
The High Court ruled that the letter of resignation of Kelvin Simon, on June 7 was
valid and therefore this means that a by-election must be held in the constituency
to fill the vacant seat within 120 days of the submission of the letter.
A member of Sen. Marshall’s team, Casworth Aaron had filed an election petition,
asking the court to determine that Simon’s nomination was not proper as he had
not resigned his position as a member of the civil service before Nomination Day.
But, recognizing that they would likely lose the petition when it came before the
court, Simon submitted a letter of resignation from parliament and asked that a by-
election be immediately triggered.
Speaker of the House, Sir Gerald Watt had initially rejected Simon’s letter of
resignation, but when he reversed his decision last Friday, it spelled the effective
end of the petition case, which was what the court eventually determined.
Sen. Marshall said while she wanted the matter of the illegality of Simon’s
nomination to be determined by the court, she knew all along that a by-election
would have been inevitable.
“We have been on the ground, interacting with the constituents and we are getting
very positive feedback in our canvassing. We feel confident about our chances. We
are prepared for this by-election, we are ready!” she declared.
Sen. Marshall will be running on a theme of ‘competence’ as she highlights the
differences in representation between herself and Simon during his brief stay in
parliament, prior to his resignation.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Electoral Commission, John Jarvis, said the
precise date for the election is the purview of the Governor General, acting on the
advice of the Prime Minister.
He said the team at ABEC is ready to go into action as soon as the date is
announced.
It will be the first election of any kind since Dame Lorna Simon announced that
she was stepping down from the post of Supervisor of Elections.
It is not yet known if parliament will name a new supervisor of elections or recall
Simon to administer the upcoming by-election.
