Chief Justice Rules in Favor of Andre Worrell and Pedro Shepherd in Democratic Labour Party Leadership Dispute

The new chief justice’s first major ruling from the bench has allowed Andre Worrell to continue acting as president of the Democratic Labour Party and Pedro Shepherd as its general secretary, as a veteran party member declared he will continue to fight for “democracy”.

Speaking to reporters immediately following Monday’s hearing with Chief Justice Leslie Haynes in the Supreme Court, Ricardo Williams, who filed a certificate of urgency to return Dr Ronnie Yearwood and Steve Blackett to their respective posts, expressed concern over the party’s happenings in the past months, likening the situation to “an ambush”, the Grenada coup or the 2021 insurrection against the US Congress.

Williams declared: “Barbados is a country that does everything democratically in every sphere. We always do elections, and we choose who we want, and if we choose somebody and you do not like, you wait for the next election and you canvass and do that. This is not the case here, and this type of behaviour has to stop now because if it doesn’t, it will permeate throughout the length and breadth of Barbados and continue…Dr Yearwood and Steve Blackett were re-elected by the populace of the DLP. Re-elected. If there is anybody that wants to have the leadership of the party, they should go through that process.”

The chief justice ordered that the status quo remain until June 26 and informed attorney Shamar Bovell, who is representing Williams, of the need to file additional documents with the application within 14 days.

Bovell said this would be done as a matter of urgency, adding: “We do believe that we have a strong claim and the claim will be adjudicated before the court and not necessarily before the public as that is not where the claim should be adjudicated.”

Hal Gollop KC, who along with attorneys Brian Barrow and Emerald Griffith is representing Pedro Shepherd, said that in the interim, the party must be allowed to function “in the dignified manner in which we expect a party of this standing and this reputation to function and those circumstances which have been plaguing it over the past weeks and brought it into some sort of disrepute as far as the public is concerned will not continue”.

He also told journalists that Chief Justice Haynes expressed reluctance in being involved in a political matter of an institution “which has rules for its proper functioning”.

Opposition Leader Ralph Thorne insisted that as Worrell and Shepherd function in their roles during this interim period, “their work must not be interrupted by anyone”.

Senior Counsel Michael Carrington and attorney Neal Marshall are representing Andre Worrell. jeniquebelgrave@barbadostoday.bb