Caribbean News Service (CNS)
ST JOHN’S, Antigua, Apr 14 2016 – Joanne Massiah has been excluded from the United Progressive Party’s (UPP) list of candidates in the General Elections due by 2019.
The decision to bar the Member of Parliament or All Saints East and St Luke came following consultation and intense discussions on the matter, a statement from the UPP said.
The statement adds that UPP Political Leader Harold Lovell invoked his constitutional power of veto to exclude Massiah.
The party penned a letter to Massiah citing “an extremely acrimonious and divisive rift between Massiah and the party”.
The UPP also wrote about Massiah’s ‘unsubstantiated accusations’ and ‘marked lack of support for any party initiatives or positions in the past 11 months.
The UPP said it is conducting due-diligence exercises on persons seeking to become caretakers for a number of constituencies and will announce the first set in a few weeks.
Massiah had planned to contest for the leadership of the party against Lovell last year but withdrew before the vote, citing several concerns.