With No Seat in the House, Can Shyne Still Lead UDP?

Last Wednesday, Shyne Barrow was ousted from his seat in the House of Representatives. Voters in Mesopotamia decided it was time for a change, electing Lee Mark Chang in a heated three-way race. But the drama isn’t over yet—there’s still a High Court case filed by Barrow and his former U.D.P. executives, set to be heard on March thirty-first. With Barrow losing his seat, he’s no longer eligible to lead the party, according to the United Democratic Party’s constitution. The big question now is: what impact will Justice Tawanda Hondora’s ruling have on Tracy Taegar-Panton’s leadership of the U.D.P.? 

 

Tracy Taegar-Panton, Leader of the Opposition

“Well, I don’t know what the court will decide and I can’t preempt the thinking and consideration of the judge on this matter, but I think it’s a paper case at this point.  Shyne did not win his seat and the constitution of the party is very clear, you cannot be the leader of the party if you do not win your seat in an election.  It is really unfortunate that Shyne keeps pulling at straws and not do the right and honorable thing and tender his resignation to the party.  You know, people are exhausted by this desire of his to hold on to something that he can’t hold on to and to continue to create the kind of confusion that the party doesn’t need at this time.  I have reached out to all my colleagues, all thirty-one, with the exception of the four who decided that they were leaving the party, because it’s time to reconcile, it’s time for us to heal and to rebuild, and the reconciliation and healing period has to be short.  The rebuilding is going to take time.  A lot of harm has been done to the party and I put that squarely on the shoulders of the former party leader, the former chairman and the former vice chairman of the United Democratic Party.”