PUP Says Saldivar’s Claim has No Merit

Arthur Saldivar

At this afternoon’s brief, the party chairman said that the postponement of the Belmopan convention should not be interpreted as any acceptance or recognition that Saldivar’s claim has any sort of merit. But Usher conceded that Saldivar is now allowed to apply and so does not see the need for further court action.

Henry Charles Usher, Chairman, P.U.P.

Henry Charles Usher Jr.

“We intend to resist this claim entirely on its merits. However, for those of you who were in court last Friday, the matter to be determined this Friday is whether there is an issue of fact and whether the injunction will be granted. And we are saying that perhaps there might be an issue of facts. He is claiming one set of facts. We are certainly claiming a different set of facts. And for that reasons we have decided to suspend the convention until the end of August and reopen the application process. That way what he is claiming, well he can put in his application. But in terms of what the procedure followed, we entirely disagree with his position. Right now the focus of the party is re-registration. It is certainly unfair to have the Belmopan constituency in limbo while this process is taking its court through the courts of elsewhere. We need to make sure that the democratic process if followed. We need to make sure that the constitution of the party is adhered to. And we need to make sure that the people of Belmopan have an opportunity to decide who their PUP candidate will be. Well it is certainly not to escape any kind of legal liability because we believe that our position is firm and the correct one. We also believe that it is not fair to be in limbo for our three candidates nor the residents or our supporters in Belmopan. Anything can happen on Friday if there is an injunction or so on. So we believe that it is important to have this process, have a determined date as to when the convention will be and that is the reason for doing this. Having his application accepted and vetted is really the foundation of his claim so I do not know why there will be a claim after that.”

Patrick Jason Andrews who had his application denied will also be allowed to reapply.