By Charminae George
The resignation of Kelvin ‘Shugy’ Simon as MP for St Mary’s South has triggered debate over what will happen to the election petition filed in the High Court against him.
In January, legal action was filed by the ABLP who claim Simon was ineligible for office as he was a civil servant at the time of his official nomination. Simon quit his Education Ministry role a fortnight before the polls.
Attorney-at-law Leon ‘Chaku’ Symister told Observer AM yesterday that the court case will not proceed further once the required formal procedures are completed.
“Yes, it makes it moot. Some formalities will have to be taken before the court to bring the matter to a formal end naturally,” he said.
“It’s not going to be a question that a case was on the docket and here Mr Simon resigned and you just… don’t tell the court anything. That’s not how it works.
“So there are some formalities which will be taken care of in short order that will in effect bring this matter to an end,” he added.
Simon’s resignation paves the way for a by-election to take place. He is set to go head to head for the seat once again against the ABLP’s Samantha Marshall, who he previously defeated by 199 votes.
Meanwhile, fellow attorney Dr David Dorsett confirmed that, according to Section 39 (1) of the Representation of the People Act, Marshall would first have to resign from her position as senator.
“Yes, anybody who is running in an election cannot be currently serving as a member of the Parliament. That means either of the Upper House or the Lower House,” he said.
The legislation states, “No person shall be qualified to be elected as a member of the house who a) is by virtue of his own act, under any acknowledgement or allegiance, obedience or adherence to a foreign power of state; b) is a senator or temporary member of the Senate.”
Additionally, there have been questions raised on whether or not Simon officially submitted his letter of resignation to the Speaker of the House, Sir Gerald Watt. Simon told Observer yesterday that he was physically present when his letter was delivered to a secretary in the Speaker’s office on Wednesday.
He added that he is in possession of another letter – which Observer has seen – that confirms receipt of the resignation letter specifically submitted to the clerk of parliament, a day after the submission of the letter to Watt.
The Speaker was approached for comment, however he indicated he was unable to provide one at the time.
On Wednesday, Simon publically announced his resignation from the House of Representatives in a press release.
“After careful consideration and prayers, I have submitted my letter of resignation to the Speaker of the House, Sir Gerald Watt KC, informing him of my decision to vacate the seat in Parliament, so that a by-election can be held within the next 120 days, as the law mandates,” he stated.
According to Simon, he vacated the seat due to the lengthy legal battle he anticipated would’ve ensued, which would negatively impact his constituents.