A no-confidence motion brought against Democratic Labour Party (DLP) President Dr Ronnie Yearwood and General Secretary Steve Blackett by veteran party member Hartley Reid was stalled by procedural issues but remained over their heads late Thursday.
Following a closed-door meeting at the party’s George Street headquarters, Blackett, accompanied by Vice President Walter Maloney, said the party’s Executive Council had discovered errors with the motion which went viral on social media.
The motion, which was said to bear a substantial number of signatures, raised concern about Blackett and Yearwood’s conduct. It called not only for their removal but also the resignation of the wider Executive Council.
However, Blackett disclosed that the council found discrepancies with the signatures attached to the motion.
DLP General Secretary Steve Blackett. (HG)
“Of the members who actually were identified as signing the resolution, when the list was scrutinised some of the people, persons on that list were identified to be not members of the party. Also, there were other members whose names were attached to the list that their names were attached without their knowledge. They were ignorant of having their names on that list.
“Basically, that is what the findings were coming out of the meeting that we had with the Executive Council not too long ago and that is exactly where we are at this stage,” he told members of the media on Thursday night.
Blackett said the discovery of flaws failed to trigger the motion’s dismissal: “Certainly not. There will be some further investigations to be conducted by other organs of the party but that is exactly where we are at this stage.”
But he could not say whether Reid would be required to refile the motion. “That would be entirely left to the person who submitted the resolution in the first place, if they so desire,” said Blackett while insisting that the motion was not denied. “We have not yet come to that position. Like I said, there’s some further actions to be taken after this meeting here this evening and when those actions are taken, then we will come to a final position on the resolution.”
Democratic Labour Party President Dr Ronnie Yearwood was mobbed by supporters. (HG)
At the centre of the internal wrangling is an invitation extended by Saint Lucia’s opposition United Workers Party (UWP) to both the party leader and the DLP’s political leader – Opposition Leader Ralph Thorne – to be a guest at the UWP’s 60th-anniversary celebrations in Castries. Reid’s motion claimed that Thorne never received the invitation while Yearwood led a delegation to the event.
Blackett confirmed the DLP received invitations that were extended to both Yearwood and Thorne and he insisted that Thorne’s “was dispatched immediately to him”.
The DLP General Secretary was asked whether he and Yearwood would recuse themselves from hearing the matter. He would only say that as the Executive Council oversees the party’s day-to-day running, its removal would affect its operations.
“If you remove the Executive Council and the person who actually chairs the Executive Council, which is the president and the person who is the secretary to the Executive Council, which is the General Secretary, I cannot see how there could be any deliberations,” he said.
Maloney reiterated that as the petition would have to go before the Executive Council, its meeting therefore examined the petition and found discrepancies.
“It means then that the other organs of this organisation will have to act on those discrepancies,” said the DLP vice president. “We looked at it, we went through it, we showed the inaccuracy within the petition, and now it is for the other organs of the organisation to look to see how we can bring this to an end.”
Yearwood, who attended the meeting, did not offer any comment on the motion but in a brief address to a group of party supporters, declared the party was united.
“Your presence here was not necessarily about supporting Ronnie Yearwood or Steve Blackett and all of these Executive Council members. Your presence here was to show that you are part of the Democratic Labour Party family because we are one and we are moving forward,” he said to loud cheers.
Thorne did not attend the meeting. (SD)
