| Simons announces he’ll seek PNP’s top job | | Print | |
| Thursday, 01 April 2010 09:30 | |||
 Two weeks after officially resigning as chairman of the interim government’s Consultative Forum, Carlos Simons officially announced his candidacy for leadership of the Progressive National Party. “After long and careful consideration, and after close consultation with people I trust and upon whom I shall rely going forward, and after much prayer, I have decided to contest the leadership of the Progressive National Party (PNP) at the party’s leadership congress to be held this August,” Simons told gathered media, supporters and curious attendees March 31. Simons noted in addition to his resignation from the interim government, he also relinquished his position as president of the Bar Council. “I have done these things so that I might have a free hand to conduct my campaign for leadership of the party without those restraints, and so that I might then help to formulate, promote and defend party policy on the important issues of the day,” he explained. The announcement marks the beginning of a long road for Simons. The election of party leader will take place at the PNP National General Council (NGC) in August. Simons will first have to convince two-thirds of the members of the executive committee to agree to place his name on the ballot, as he has not officially been a member of the party for the past five years, a necessity to contend for the leadership as the party rules state. If and when he is placed on the ticket, he will then have to win the majority of votes of the party’s NGC members. Simons says he is most grateful for the support that has been pledged so far by NGC members, but he hopes to gather enough support from NGC members over the coming weeks to ensure his victory as leader of the party. He stepped away from what he calls “front-line party politics” some 20 years ago, not because he had no interest in national affairs, but “there had always appeared to be men and women available within the party who were, and are quite capable, with the right counsel and guidance, to do an adequate job and whom I was prepared to, and did, and continue to support.” “I have always regarded the PNP as my political home,” he said. Criticized that he tried to destroy the party, that he is not true PNP, that he is a British operative, he says could not be further from the truth. “My intention was (and remains) to secure the long-term viability of the party as an instrument of government and so far as I could, to protect the country from the consequences of a weakened and disoriented PNP that also happened to form the government of the day.” Simons says he plans to take the party back to its own fundamental principles, “to preserve, protect and defend the democratic rights of the people as enshrined in the Constitution of the TCI and the United Nations Convention on Human Rights.” He helped negotiate that constitution and he hopes to restore it with the addition of necessary “check and balances.” He says he intends to use his position as leader of the party to restore the peoples’ faith in the nobility of public service at all levels and their confidence in government. “I will do so primarily by keeping the party true to its own creed,” he said. When asked about his opinion on suggestions of electoral reform or the potential expansion of the franchise, Simons said it was not prudent to discuss those issues at this time. Simons said without being given a framework or concrete details, “We can not carry on a sensible formal debate on a hypothetical issue.” “Whilst we don’t know quite what the constitutional and electoral landscape will look like when the interim government makes its exit next June,” he said he intends to see to it that the PNP as a party is at the table, that its voice is heard, that it plays a leading role in helping to shape the future and that it is a force for good in the affairs of our country. Also due to this uncertainty, Simons said he will not speculate on which constituency he will vie for in the next elections. Simons called the attendees something of a “star-studded cast of giants” of the PNP. Attendees included Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Butterfield, former Deputy Chief Minister Robert Hall, former Deputy Premier Royal Robinson, as well as Emmanuel Missick, Wayne Garland, Sam Been, Greg Lightbourne and Tony Garland. Simons was careful to point out those mentioned were not necessarily endorsing his campaign, but they were there to observe his actions in order to assess his qualifications as a future leader. Based on the amount of cheering during his speech, it would appear most agreed with his sentiments.
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