If the voters of Constituency 13: East and West Ruimveldt vote to have Winston Harding as their councillor he will hold that seat until such time as the representative of the APNU+AFC First past the post list officially writes the Chairman of the Elections Commission requesting his removal.
This is according to Section 101A of the Local Government Elections Act. Article 1 (c) of the section states that a member of a democratic organ elected on a List under the system of proportional representation or under the constituency system shall cease to be a member of the local democratic organ if the Representative of the List from which his name was drawn issues a written notice of recall to that member and forwards a copy of that notice to the Chairman of the Elections Commission.
Stabroek News reported on Wednesday that the APNU+AFC coalition was facing criticism for fielding a candidate – Harding – who has been charged several times—although not convicted—for child molestation.
When contacted for comment on the issue APNU executive and Minister of Social Protection Volda Lawrence had said that the allegations were a “family issue.” Oscar Clarke, the General Secretary of the People’s National Congress Reform, which is APNU’s largest constituent, when contacted by Stabroek News, had said that it was not an issue the party could do anything about at that time as the period for objections had passed. He said there was also the issue of the candidate denying the accusation and never having been convicted.
Once the report was published the coalition backtracked and declared its non-support for Harding and said the accusations of child molestation as reported in the media are a matter of grave concern.
The party’s stated stance and Lawrence’s as well as Clarke’s comments raise questions about their judgement on the matter. Clarke had told Stabroek News that he became aware of the accusations three weeks ago and informed Lawrence. However, it was only after an article appeared in Wednesday’s Stabroek News that the coalition acted.
