The Democratic Labour Party’s (DLP) 69th Annual Conference, intended to chart the way forward for the party’s future, descended into chaos as internal strife over leadership escalated into the suspension of the day’s business without a session being fully convened.
The conference, which began with a gala on Friday night, faced significant disruption on its first business day as competing factions within the party clashed over the legitimacy of its leadership and the conduct of its proceedings.
This internal conflict has its roots in the recent expulsion of Dr Ronnie Yearwood and Steve Blackett from the party Their sacking came under controversial circumstances, a move viewed by their supporters asunjust and heavy-handed.
DLP members at the George Street Auditorium for day 2 of the conference.
The suspensions have led to a deepening divide within the DLP, with one faction rallying behind the current leadership, including acting general secretary Pedro Shepherd and president Andre Worrell, while another faction, loyal to Yearwood and Blackett, pushed for their reinstatement. This schism set the stage for the dramatic events at the conference.
The party’s second vice president, Walter Maloney, told Barbados TODAY that party members had raised a motion to remove the fourth vice president from chairing the meeting, citing a breach of the party’s constitution. Maloney explained, “This is a conference made up of members of the Democratic Labour Party, a conference where the members can determine how they want their party to run, and how it should proceed.” He said the DLP’s constitution dictates the order of succession for leadership roles, emphasizing that the second vice president should preside over the conference in the absence of the first vice president.
From left, Dr Ronnie Yearwood and Walter Maloney.
The second VP stated, “The members decided that in order to follow the constitution, the next ranking member of the executive since the first vice president was not here is the second vice president.” The motion to reinstate the general secretary and the president, who had previously been expelled, was also carried by a vote of 78-4, with two abstentions. Maloney described the vote as a reaffirmation of the members’ rights, noting, “It is the right of the members of this conference to determine if they wanted them to remain outside or inside, and they made a decision.” He said that as a result, a motion was passed to suspend the conference, allowing the reinstated leadership time to assess the situation and plan the next steps.
Maloney emphasized the importance of adhering to the party’s constitution and respecting the will of its members: “This party needs to settle down, and we have to understand that a small percentage of this party cannot determine how this party is run outside of the members.”
However, during a media briefing, the first of two on the day, Pedro Shepherd, the acting general secretary of the DLP, painted a different picture of the events. He accused a “renegade group of persons” of disrupting the conference before it had even officially started.
“They claimed to have raised some motion on the floor. Of course, the motion could not have been entertained because the meeting had not even started,” Shepherd stated. The acting general secretary went on to refute claims made by the opposing faction regarding the reinstatement of expelled members, labeling the reports as “false news” and “false information.” He insisted that the current leadership, including himself as general secretary and Andrea Worrell as president, remained firmly in place.
From left, Acting President Andre Worrell, Acting General Secretary Pedro Shepherd at today’s session. Former President Dr Ronnie Yearwood looks on.
Shepherd also dismissed statements from individuals claiming to hold positions such as public relations officer or special envoy, asserting that the party does not recognize these roles.
As tensions flared, Shepherd indicated that the conference would resume once the police removed the disruptive individuals from the premises. “Once we get clearance from the police that those renegade persons are removed from this compound, we shall resume our conference today, and we will also return here tomorrow to conclude the business of the Democratic Labour Party,” Shepherd declared. (RG)
