By Gemma Handy
The stage looks set for a by-election in St Mary’s South after the House Speaker announced a U-turn on his previous refusal to accept Kelvin ‘Shugy’ Simon’s resignation as MP.
A letter from Sir Gerald Watt to Simon dated June 30 concedes that Simon’s resignation did indeed take effect automatically on June 7 when Simon first formally announced the move in writing.
The Speaker’s stance marks a significant volte-face on his erstwhile position that Simon had failed to adhere to constitutional requirements and thus his resignation could not be accepted.
“After a careful study of sections 125 (1) (b) and (2), I have come to the conclusion that resignations pursuant to these sections are ‘at large’. Consequently, your resignation is automatic and does not require acceptance by the Speaker,” Sir Gerald wrote in yesterday’s letter.
Simon had maintained from the outset that his mode of resignation – via a letter to the Speaker – was within the prescribed rules. He had been hoping that quitting the role would trigger an automatic by-election – which by law must be held within 120 days of his resignation – and thus avoid a lengthy legal battle over his eligibility for office.
Yesterday, Simon told Observer he had been “expecting” the latest pronouncement from the Speaker.
“I was waiting for the Speaker to come to his senses. The Constitution speaks for itself and those sections are clearly defined.
“I knew I acted right, I was just waiting for him to come around which he eventually did.
“It’s just so sad that he had to take so long to admit that he was wrong and accept that my resignation was correct,” Simon said.
“The clock started to tick from June 7 when I resigned, so I’m expecting to hear the announcement of a by-election date sometime soon,” he added.
The 43-year-old first-time politician has been the subject of an election petition following his victory at the January 18 general election.
The governing ABLP party claims Simon was ineligible to run for office as he was a civil servant at the time of being officially nominated, despite the fact he quit his Ministry of Education post a fortnight before the poll.
The case is due to come before the court next week. Whether or not it goes ahead remains to be seen. But the government has repeatedly said it wants the courts to make a ruling to avoid grey areas in future.
Sir Gerald had previously quoted a different section of the Constitution, suggesting Simon must first formally leave the party through which he was elected.
Friday’s letter to Simon was not without a touch of rancour. He notes Simon’s efforts to circumnavigate the court proceedings and speculates that the opposition UPP party was “not confident” of a ruling in its favour.
And he calls into question the lingering legacy of such a move on the political stability of the nation.
“We as thoughtful Antiguans must take note that if this type of political chicanery is constitutionally permissible, then unscrupulous politicians and members of our parliament can very easily manipulate resignations in such a manner as to create constitutional crises including the removal of a sitting government, dissolution of parliament and other parliamentary chaos,” Sir Gerald wrote.
He added that he now plans to publish a legal opinion for “public discussion and possibly reform of section 125” of the Constitution.
In the coming months, Simon is set to face off once again for the St Mary’s South seat against the ABLP’s Samantha Marshall, whom he previously beat by almost 200 votes. Marshall declined to comment on the latest developments when approached by Observer yesterday.