Just days after reclaiming the post of UDP Chairman, Michael Peyrefitte has moved quickly to broker peace within the fractured United Democratic Party. He convened a closed-door meeting with key party figures this morning, including Shyne Barrow, Hugo Patt, Alberto August, Omar Figueroa, Tony Herrera, and Aldo Salazar. “Those are the respective regional leaders and executives of the UDP,” Peyrefitte said.
According to Peyrefitte, the session was productive, with both factions, those aligned with Shyne and those backing Tracy Panton, engaging in what he described as a “sober conversation” focused solely on the party’s welfare.
He confirmed that the group agreed on terms that will be taken to the National Party Council (NPC), with the goal of holding a national convention on October 5th to elect official leadership.
“It is my hope and expectation that, come October 5th, we will be having a national convention to choose the leadership of the UDP moving forward so that there can’t be no doubt as to who is the leader, who is the first deputy, who is the second deputy, who is the chair, and who is the vice chair,” Peyrefitte said.
Still, the path to unity hasn’t been without setbacks. On Monday, News 5 reported on an internal message from Peyrefitte expressing frustration over what he saw as “crossroads” once again from the agreed “way forward” negotiated among senior party members. His stance indicated that despite efforts at reconciliation, internal tensions persisted despite his return.
Peryrefitte said he believes “a lot of it has been miscommunication” within the party, carried about by people “who can’t communicate properly and then disseminate that information to the rest of the party.”