In the wake of the High Court’s recent decision, Shyne Barrow and his attorney, Doctor Christopher Malcolm, highlighted a key section of the ruling regarding Tracy Taegar-Panton’s status within the United Democratic Party. Justice Hondora stated that Taegar-Panton’s membership is ultimately a matter for U.D.P. members to decide. Despite the legal complexities, Barrow remains resolute, asserting his position as the party leader. This development adds another layer to the ongoing leadership dispute within the U.D.P.
Shyne Barrow, Claimant
“I believe in justice, I believe in what is right. It’s not just who won the election, if the election was won under fraud. It’ s not who won the elections if things don’t get better for the Belizean people. And so, this is justice; this is a strong rebuke of those people from the old guard. This is what they’ve tried to do to the UDP, to justify and to misinterpret and to exploit inconsistencies and ambiguities in our constitution for the furtherance of their interest and not for the UDP.”
Isani Cayetano
“For the benefit of our viewers, those who may not be privy to the details of the judgment, it appears to be a split decision. What does this mean for you?”
Shyne Barrow
“Well, no, you have to read paragraph forty-six, that your colleague just read, that the judge made no determination whether Tracy Panton is a member of the UDP. He said that the expulsion did not follow the procedure but he’s still not making any determination whether she’s a member or not. So the most important decision that was rendered is the fact that I remain party leader. The central executive, the national party council that is in place remains. All of those people that abandoned the UDP for the Alliance for Democracy and we ran other candidates, those are our candidates, those are the NPC. The people in the central executive that they dismissed, that is the party.”