Shyne Barrow Retains UDP Leadership Amid Court Ruling; Tracy Panton’s Leadership Aspirations Delayed

Moses Shyne Barrow has secured another victory in the Belize High Court after Justice Hondora handed down a significant ruling today.  Before we get into the details of the ruling, we can tell you that Tracy Panton and the Alliance for Democracy will not have a chance to ventilate their objections until March 31 next year.  It is the assumption that the next court date has hampered Panton’s plans to be declared the UDP Leader prior to the next elections. According to the 5-page ruling, Panton and the other defendants are to submit a reply to the claimants by January 15 surrounding the counterclaim; any requests for disclosure should be made by January 17 and should be honored by January 31; and, a pretrial memorandum should be filed by the attorneys for both sides by February 14.  Additionally, written submissions and relevant documents should be submitted by March 15 for the oral hearings set for March 31.  It is quite the lengthy process that has deterred Panton from moving forward in her attempts to take over the UDP.  Her compliance with the court ruling was evident today when she issued a digital Christmas greeting card with only the title of UDP Albert Representative.  Now, moving on to the details of the court ruling, you may recall that last month the court ordered that Barrow regain control and occupancy of the UDP Headquarters and its organs, namely Wave Radio and The Guardian Newspaper.  Today, the court ruling went even further by denying Panton’s requests to stop Barrow from operating as the UDP Leader on all levels.  The court noted that no such ruling can be made as the so-called October 20 leadership convention has not been validated since Barrow did not agree to nor approve the proceedings.  Interestingly, while the court could have charged Panton for contempt of the November ruling, Justice Hondora did remind all parties that everyone must abide by the ruling including those associated with the claimants and defendants.  Love News understands that the warning referred to Panton’s insistence on using the UDP letterhead purporting to be the UDP interim leader.  It is to be noted that while the oral hearings are set for the end of March next year, the court also offered all parties the option of mediation which they would have to agree to and apply for by January 6.