The letter sent by the representative for St. Mary’s South, Kelvin ‘Shugy’ Simon
offering to resign his seat in the House of Representatives, was a mere two-liner
that did not provide a reason for his decision.
The revelation comes from Speaker of the House, Sir Gerald Watt KC.
According to Sir Gerald, there are specific reasons by which a member could
resign or vacate his/her seat in the House but under the circumstances, he could not
accept the letter of resignation, because it did not meet any of the criteria laid out
by the Constitution.
“There were just two lines, stating, ‘Dear Mr. Speaker, I hereby resign from my
position as parliamentary representative for St. Mary’s South Constituency
effective June 9, 2023,” he disclosed.
According to Sir Gerald, the letter in his possession did not go beyond the two
lines. What seems to have happened is that the public statements given by Simon,
before the submission of the letter, and even after that, as well as the MP’s
utterances, were not included in the letter to Sir Gerald.
“If you follow what is coming out of opposition circles and some of the pseudo-
lawyers on the radio, they are suggesting that a member of parliament can resign
without giving a reason. In other words, they are saying that in this country you
can just resign and precipitate a by-election ‘jus lacka dat’ and that makes sense to
some people. Well, if a person can resign without a reason why does he/she not
just walk out of the House, why pen a letter to me, the Speaker,” he asked
rhetorically.
The Speaker noted that if one takes a broader view of the matter and looks at what
obtains in other countries that allow resignations, all have laid down certain
protocols by which a member can resign. For example, he said some disallow
resignations under any circumstances.
In the UK, a person chosen by the people cannot relinquish the post. There are four
conditions under which this is allowed; these are death, disqualification, expulsion,
or expiration of the term in office.
Sir Gerald provided further information from Canada, where a member cannot
resign if there is an election case in which the member is involved.
Simon’s qualification to be nominated and elected to serve in the parliament is
before the courts and will be heard in early July.
