The Democratic Labour Party (DLP) is grappling with a political leadership puzzle after the swearing in of Senator Ryan Walters left him as the party’s only parliamentary representative.
With no seats in the House of Assembly following the third consecutive Barbados Labour Party’s 30-0 General Election victory on February 11, the DLP’s internal rules governing the selection of a political leader are now under scrutiny.
Rule 50 of its constitution states: “The parliamentary group shall consist of all party members of the House of Assembly and the Senate”. That same rule reserves to that group “the election of a political leader”.
The constitution further defines the political leader as “the person who commands the support of the majority of members of the parliamentary group in the House of Assembly” – language that complicates matters since the DLP has no members in the House.
DLP general secretary Pedro Shepherd said the party did not enter the election anticipating such a scenario.
“We were not thinking of political leadership because we were thinking of a Government. We expected that those who won the seats would have decided amongst themselves who shall lead. That did not take place so we just waited and see,” he said.
With Walters now the party’s sole parliamentarian, Shepherd suggested that the party’s constitution appears to point in a practical direction.
“The constitution will speak to political leadership in terms of those members in the Parliament of Barbados, which includes senators,” he said.
“The person who commands the majority support among the parliamentary group would be the person deemed as political leader. Which is Ryan Walters, who is a member of the Democratic Labour Party, I believe, and who is the only Democratic Labour Party member in the Parliament. So, if it is the obvious choice, then it is obvious that Ryan Walters would be [the political leader].”
At the same time, he confirmed that party president Ralph Thorne remains in office and that discussions were ongoing.
“Yes, he is still the president of the party . . . . I don’t know if he has intentions at the moment, but that is another process that we will have to discuss and go through to reduce any conflict or negative public sentiment,” Shepherd added.
Political scientist Dr George Belle said the matter turns squarely on the party’s constitution.
“I think you would have to look at the constitution of the DLP explicitly on that question, because I suspect . . . if that is so, that he should assume the position of political leader of the party,” he told the Saturday Sun.
However, he acknowledged the complication created by the reference to the House of Assembly.
Still, Belle suggested that the broader political context could not be ignored. He described President The Most Honourable Jeffrey Bostic’s decision to appoint Walters and Friends of Democracy’s leader Karina Goodridge as potentially strategic.
“His choice, actually, in terms of Barbadian politics, might have been quite wise. He followed the Constitution . . . and he remained with the opposition voices,” he said.
“Whether fortuitously or deliberately, he has created a political opportunity for the Democratic Labour Party and the Friends of the Democracy, which is an offshoot of the DLP, to work together and put aside their differences. This adds up to political wisdom.”
Fellow political scientist Devaron Bruce approached the issue from both procedural and practical angles.
“The selection of the third party, Karina Goodridge, is not surprising to me. I believe it is a direct response to what the Democratic Labour Party has done, which is try to influence the President’s decision by only selecting two individuals when four are requested.
“Had they followed the process, they may very well have had two members of the Democratic Labour Party in the Senate, [but] they bungled the process,” he added.
On the leadership question, Bruce pointed to precedent and practicality. “If you recall, Clyde Mascoll would have been the political leader for the Democratic Labour Party from the Senate . . . although Thompson was in the Lower House. Mascoll, who was in the Senate at the time, led the party politically,” he said. “Given the fact that Ryan is the only person that has parliamentary presence, whether Upper House or Lower house, I would think logic would dictate that he become a political leader.” Shepherd said the immediate focus remains on renewal. “The next step for me would be for us to meet all of the candidates who took part in the General Election. Once we do that and we have a review of the election from the candidates’ perspective, then we can move into meeting with the membership of the party,” he said.
“There will be a rebuilding. There will be probably a rebranding, and I can tell you that the Democratic Labour Party surely is not dead. It is not going to just lay down and pretend that it’s dead either.” (CLM)
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