Panton and Team Go Back to Court for Clarification

The rift inside the United Democratic Party is deepening. Tracy Taegar-Panton and her camp are once again challenging the leadership of Moses ‘Shyne’ Barrow, this time, in court. After a judge ruled her expulsion from the party was unlawful, Panton is making it clear: she and other senior members aren’t going anywhere. In fact, she says they remain full members, with all rights and privileges intact. But the party’s official response? Not so fast. A press release under the UDP’s letterhead insists the court hearing changes nothing. So, who’s really calling the shots, and what does this mean for the future of the UDP? We caught up with Panton today in Belmopan.

 

Tracy Taegar-Panton, Leader of the Opposition

“I thought the court ruling was clear the first time around when it was published on the twenty-first of May. However the way we were treated as members of the party did not reflect the decision of the judge. We sought clarification internally and there was a difference of view as to what the judge said and meant. So, the only way to declare is to seek clarification from the high court, which was done. The High Court has now made it abundantly clear that the expulsions were illegal. They are invalid, therefore void and of no legal effect. That was my understand the first time. Now the onus is on the Central Executive of the party to ensure that my membership and the membership of the other colleagues who were purportedly expelled be dne away with, that our rights and privileges be recognized as members of the UDP, so we can move forward in an effort to try and bridge the divide, unite the party and be the robust opposition that we have a mandate to be.”