Democratic Labour Party’s Acting President Expects Swift Resolution of Suspended Leaders' Disciplinary Process Post-Annual Conference

The Democratic Labour Party’s acting president, Andre Worrell, has announced that the disciplinary process involving the suspended president and general secretary is expected to be resolved soon after the upcoming annual party conference.

Speaking at the conference launch at the party’s George Street headquarters on Tuesday, Worrell addressed concerns about infighting within the party. He sought to give assurances that the situation was under control and being handled by the Disciplinary Committee.

“We know it’s a concern for the members, but it is a process and it is being handled by the Disciplinary Committee,” he told reporters. “The committee is expected to meet today, but of course with any trial, you don’t want to prejudge what can possibly happen, give the committee an opportunity to follow through with the process.”

He added: “The matter is under control, the matter remains before the Disciplinary Committee, and even if they are not finished before the annual conference, it should not take them much longer after the conference to come back to the general council with a decision.”

Worrell stressed that the party was still “functioning” and that the issue had not derailed its general work.

Acting General Secretary Pedro Shepherd clarified that the upcoming internal elections would not affect the ongoing disciplinary process. He noted that the party was not electing officers this year, as a 2021 resolution had extended their terms to two years.

He said: “This year we are having elections for six general council members, and once the general council is completed, they would then have elections for 10 persons to sit on the executive. We are not electing officers for the party this year. In 2021, there was a resolution to give effect to officers serving a two-year period, so those from 2023 will serve until 2025 unless something happens along the way.

“There are some members on the general council who will remain, those of us who serve on the executive and serve on the general council will remain, so there will be a continuum. The disciplinary committee also serves for two years and will continue the work, so I don’t think that has to be an issue for us. The matter is under control.”

Shepherd revealed that the party has been actively seeking potential candidates for the next general election.

“We have had a candidate selection committee in place, we are eyeing candidates, branches have been asked to identify persons who they believe can carry the banner for the Democratic Labour Party in the respective constituencies,” he said.

“That is an ongoing process, we are hoping that within the next few months, we can have some wrapping up of that, but we have some very interesting persons coming forward to be candidates for the Democratic Labour Party in the next election.”

The acting general secretary also mentioned that while suspended president Dr Ronnie Yearwood had called for a “wiping of the slate” regarding various no-confidence motions, this suggestion had not been formally considered as Dr Yearwood had not submitted official correspondence to the party. (SB)