The caretaker for the United Progressive Party (UPP) St Paul’s Branch, Dr Cleon Athill, has suggested that a clash of “styles” was at the heart of her departure from the Party.
The UPP confirmed yesterday that Dr Athill, who contested the 2023 general elections against the incumbent MP Chet Greene, had resigned.
In a letter sent to Shawn Nicholas, the General Secretary of the UPP, Dr Athill said that her style of politics was “antithetical to the UPP ethos” and that her style was always going to remain an issue between her and the Party.
“About three years ago, after much deliberation, and at the chilling exhortation of my eldest son to be the change I wished to see, I answered the call to enter into electoral politics.
“I was excited to be part of the UPP’s slate heading into the upcoming general election. I understood it as a call for me to make a difference, and I accepted it with a strong resolve, and welcomed the UPP as the platform/machinery for that to happen,” she penned.
Dr Athill added, in her letter, that her choice of style-of-campaigning in the Constituency found no favours within the Party’s leadership.
She wrote, “The road though has not been an easy one. This is because I chose to engage in the political space differently and endeavoured to run a positive campaign.
“Over the course of the campaign, I heard that I had a different style, and it quickly became obvious that this so-called different style found no favour with the leadership of the Party, nor with the campaign management team.
“Consequently, the past three years of my association with the UPP, and my involvement in the campaign, have presented me with my most serious existential dilemma/challenge.
“It has caused me to question myself, politics, our political maturity, opposition ideology and mentality, partisan and tribal culture… and I’ve seen how much of the game we play for politics undermines/ thwarts the forward movement of our beloved country.”
The UPP, in its press release, thanked Dr Athill for her service to the Party and the Constituency over the past four years, and wished her well in her continued professional pursuits.
Dr Athill’s resignation puts the spotlight on the Party at a time when it is preparing to hold its biennial convention, with a leadership battle ahead.
The Party will now have to decide who will replace Dr Athill as its caretaker and future candidate for the St Paul Constituency.