UDP Power Struggle Intensifies: Alliance for Democracy Pushes for National Convention

The struggle for power in the United Democratic Party continues as the group calling itself the Alliance for Democracy remains hell-bent on calling for a National Convention. This month, the party entered into a whirlwind of tensions after an attempt to unseat Party Leader Shyne Barrow was made at a National Party Council meeting on August 3. Albert’s Tracy Panton with the backing of Patrick Faber, John Saldivar, and Beverly Williams spearheaded an attempt to trigger a national convention. However, the petition of signatures collected by the group was rejected by the Party’s Chairman Michael Peyrefitte. Since then, the alliance has written to Peyrefitte calling for another NPC meeting to discuss what it says are violations of the UDP’s constitution. This morning, Panton appeared on The Morning Show and spoke about the basis of the group’s efforts and why she believes the party needs reform. 

Tracy Panton, UDP Albert Area Representative: “Since then we have requested another meeting of the NPC with the requisite signatures. I have tried to call the chairman three times he has not taken my calls. In fact I thought he was out of the country but then I saw him at the event yesterday the Music Project Launch so he is in country and he’s just chosen not to respond. And that wholly unacceptable. Let me be clear none of us, not the 16, not the 232 members of the NPC wants to have a public discussion about what’s happening internally in the party. People are fatigued. There’s a high degree of frustration because we need to get it together. But when you completely disregard the institutional tools of the party so that you can arrive at a decision that you want, and the most important institutional tool that we have is the constitution of the party. That has been completely disregarded. In fact it’s as though we don’t have a constitution and that constitution has served the party well for several years. And so all we’re asking is simply this; let us follow the guidelines and rules outlined in the constitution of the party where it relates to decision making and building consensus over how we will proceed as a party, as a party how we will heal, how we will unite, how we will be a robust opposition which this country surely needs. We cannot have a democracy if we don’t have a robust opposition.”

While the party’s Chairman has argued that efforts to replace members of its national executive will not be in the opposition’s best interest, Panton believes the party is carrying dead weight that needs to be dropped. 

Tracy Panton, UDP Albert Area Representative: “In the United Democratic Party has been compromised. There is no opportunity, there is no space for sharing of ideas, sharing of opinions, having a dissenting view on a matter, building consensus, those mechanisms have been shut down and I certainly have been shut out because I do not agree with some of the policies and approaches that has been used by the party leader and by the chairman and I’m not alone. I am not alone. There are many members of this party, many delegates of this party, members of the NPC, the wider public who is saying please, please we need to do something about the current situation within the party. You see when the UDP democracy is compromised the country’s democracy is compromised and we can’t have a democracy that’s hanging on a string and that’s what we have now. We have a supermajority of the government, we have an opposition party that cannot get it together because of its leadership and so there has to be a change. You know there’s no wrong time to make a change and to make a right decision.”

It is yet to be seen whether the Chairman will respond to the alliance’s latest letter.