Now Denny wants NUPW elections poll probed

Yet another key figure in the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW) has challenged the validity of the union’s elections.

David Denny, who ran unsuccessfully for the post of Second Vice President, has called for an urgent review of the election.

He follows former acting general secretary Delcia Burke who on Friday joined losing presidential candidate Fabian Jones in voicing deep concerns surrounding Thursday’s presidential elections which was marked by an extremely low turnout.

Denny told Barbados TODAY that he had information about suspicious activities involved in the election process, and thus he has no confidence in the results. He did not present any evidence.

Denny said: “I don’t have any confidence in that election that was held last Thursday, and that is my position. For me, in order to have confidence in an election it must have certain principles and things about it that would allow me to respect it.

“I would like the union to do an investigation into this process in terms of how polling is done within the union. I would like the union to look inward and organize a team of persons to do an investigation, so that in the future all of the candidates would have some form of confidence in the electoral process.”

Kimberley Agard was declared president, receiving 393 votes. Her challenger, who amassed 183 votes, has voiced concerns about the integrity of the election process and called for an urgent review.

Jones claimed that several allies of another candidate dominated the election process and noted that there was an absence of transparency. He also questioned the integrity of the tallying process which he indicated appeared to be more secretive when compared to what took place in the past.

Jones said he received hard evidence of an intention by some to ensure an outcome not in his favour.

Denny noted that he agreed with the concerns the presidential candidate raised.

He said: “I also want to say that I congratulate Kimberly Agard and her team, because they are not the ones who were in charge of the elections. I hold the General Secretary responsible for the issues that I am concerned about.

“I can tell you that I plan to do a resolution for the next annual conference, regarding the electoral process within the union. And my position is that if the Acting General Secretary [Wayne Walrond] and his team were responsible for suspending [former President] Akanni McDowall then that can’t be the same team managing the same electoral process.

“The members of the union must have confidence in the electoral process and therefore we need to have a review of this year’s election.”

Denny also said that he supported McDowall’s decision to withdraw from the race because he too holds the opinion that there is some form of political interference in the union’s business. He did not elaborate. (AH)