By Robert A Emmanuel
Members of Antiguans and Barbudans for Constitutional Reform and Education (ABCRE) have suggested that the Speaker of the House Sir Gerald Watt is flawed in his reasoning for rejecting the resignation of St Mary’s South MP Kelvin Simon.
On June 7, a letter was sent to the Speaker’s Office in which MP Simon sought to trigger a by-election, in an effort to circumvent the election petition he has been dealing with since being elected in January.
The ruling ABLP claim Simon was ineligible for office as he was a civil servant at the time of his official nomination, despite the fact he quit his position a fortnight before the election.
However, there have now been questions over the process of Simon’s resignation – and whether the Speaker has the authority to reject it.
On Monday, the Speaker issued a letter rejecting the resignation, citing section 41.1.e of the Constitution which states that an MP vacates their seat if they resign from the political party by which they were elected, unless they serve as an independent member.
Ralph Bowen debated the issue with fellow ABCRE member Beverley George, arguing that the Speaker failed to note section 41.3 of the Constitution which states that a by-election shall be held once an MP vacates his seat for any other reason except by a dissolution of Parliament, outside of the reasons given in sections 41.1 and 41.2.
“In other words, if we are to argue that section 125 is a standalone provision, the related section 41 that would apply to a resignation that touches or concerns a resignation based on giving up your party whip or allegiance with the expectation of leaving Parliament, as opposed to being an independent person, would be section 41.3,” Bowen explained.
“Clearly the Constitution contemplates that there may be a possibility that someone may resign that does not fit within the defined sections 41.1 or 41.2,” he added.
Section 41.3 of the Constitution states: “Where an elected member of the House vacates his seat in the House pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (b) to (e) of subsection (1) of this section or of subsection (2) of this section or where the seat of an elected member of the House is vacant for any other reason except a dissolution of Parliament, there shall be a by-election to fill the seat in the House vacated by that member and the by-election shall be held no later than one hundred and twenty days after the day on which the seat of the member of the House became vacant unless Parliament is sooner dissolved.”
In the Speaker’s letter, he argued that “section 125 cannot be interpreted in isolation, it must be read in conjunction with section 41.1(a)-(e) which deals specifically with the vacating of your seat in the House of Representatives.”
Sir Gerald added, “The suggestion by some lay persons and attorneys alike that section 125(b) creates a right of resignation is a seriously flawed interpretation, which I summarily reject.”
Meanwhile, questions have been raised over how Simon’s resignation impacts the election petition against him.
Some say the court proceedings are now moot. But Bowen suggested that the resignation would not “automatically end the case from a legal perspective” as Simon is the respondent.
“Unless the case is withdrawn, that issue [of whether Kelvin Simon was correctly nominated] is not rendered moot by his resignation because the court must speak to that issue to get to the other claims that were made,” Bowen said.
Casworth Aaron, the election petitioner, has been calling for the court to declare Senator Samantha Marshall the winner of the January 18 polls based on the purported invalidation of Simon’s nomination and subsequent election. Simon previously defeated Marshall by 199 votes.