Hanover body validates Wright

Western Bureau:

Despite the objections being raised in some quarters about the legitimacy of the exercise, which gave Cleveland Wright the chairmanship of the Hanover Parish Development Committee (HPDC), there will be no new election for the post.

At a referendum, which was held recently at the Social Development Commission's (SDC) Office, in Lucea, where some 26 Community Development Committee (CDC) chairpersons were in attendance, the question was put to them as to whether or not new election should be held for the post of PDC chairman.

However, following a secret ballot among those present to decide on whether or not a new election should be held, 14 persons voted against the motion; and 11 voted to hold new elections. There was one spoilt ballot.

Once the result of the secret ballot was revealed, the SDC leadership in the parish ordered that Wright, who was elected chairman at the recent PDC annual general meeting, will lead the organisation for the next two years.

Election aftermath

The controversy about who is to lead the PDC in the parish of Hanover came about following the holding of the long-overdue AGM on Wednesday, May 31. At that election, Wright defeated his challenger, Dwayne Clayton, by one vote for the chairmanship of the organisation.

Clayton did not take the defeat nicely, and within a few weeks he wrote a letter to the SDC parish manager, Mashario Bisasor, in which he protested the results of the election on the grounds of irregularities.

"My protest surrounds the point that there were at least two votes that should be declared null and void," stated Clayton in his letter, which claimed instances of constitutional breaches took place during the elections, which resulted in him losing.

The SDC parish manager, in trying to lay the matter to rest, notified the CDC's membership within the parish that at the next scheduled seminar put on by his organisation, a decision will be taken on the matter. The decision-making move came at Thursday's Local Governance seminar staged by the SDC at its Watson Taylor Park, Lucea, office complex.

Following the latest decision, Clayton could not be reached for his reactions to the situation and whether or not he was ready to put the matter to rest.

"This shows that democracy and volunteerism are alive and well in Hanover," said Wright.