One Opposition Candidate Comes under the Microscope
Grenada’s Supervisor of Election Arthur Pierre has said that he is seeking legal advice on the Nomination papers filed on Thursday by Adrian Joseph, the opposition New National Party (NNP) Candidate for the St George North-west constituency.
Pierre made the statement when questioned by THE NEW TODAY hours after the Electoral Office received the Nomination Papers of Joseph and other candidates who are contesting the November 5 General Election.
He said he would seek legal advice on the issue even if Joseph reportedly submitted his letter of resignation to the Public Service Commission (PSC) 24-hours before Nomination Day.
“I am just telling you that as it relates to how I treat with the issue of the Candidates and their nominees and their declarations I am seeking legal advice – that is as much as I could say for now,” he said.
Joseph stepped down as Clerk of Parliament in March but did not immediately tender his resignation from the Public Service.
There are reports that the NNP Candidate for St George North-west was trying to get his two stints in the Public Service joined together in order to qualify for a Pension.
However, he did not get it and was forced to submit his resignation letter Wednesday in order to try and qualify to be a candidate for the opposition NNP in the general election which is less than three weeks away.
Under the Representation of the People Act, a candidate has to state categorically, “I am not the holder of a public Office.”
Joseph joined the public service first as a Driver and then came back later after engaging in some studies to pass some o ’level subjects to occupy positions such as Chief of Protocol and then Acting Clerk of Parliament.
The NNP Candidate was on the campaign trail for the past seven months while still holding a position within the Public Service.
According to a high-level public officer, if the PSC goes by the book on the Adrian Joseph resignation then he might be disqualified from taking part in the Nomination process on the grounds that he needs to give one month’s notice of his intention to officially quit his position.
“He resigned as of yesterday (Wednesday). He was there playing hard ball,” he quipped.
“If I was in the Public Service Commission I wasn’t going to accept his letter of resignation just so. I would tell him that he has to give one month’s notice – that is the law,” he said.
However, the source pointed out that the PSC can use its discretion to waive the required one month’s notice for Joseph.
Another high-level public officer feared that Joseph received “bad legal advice” on the manner in which he did not submit his resignation letter for months but was holding out with the hope of getting his years of service joined in order to qualify for a pension.
He explained the process that had to be used in order to join Joseph’s service.
He said: “The joining of the service is not really a government issue. The Governor-General is the only authority that could join service but somebody has to initiate it like the Cabinet Secretary or the ( CPO) Chief Personnel Officer in the Public Service Commission. Somebody has to initiate it and get it to the Governor-General for consideration.”
Joseph is contesting the seat which was held for an unbroken 42 years in Parliament by the 80-year old Keith Mitchell, the former Prime Minister and Political Leader of NNP who is no longer seeking public office after his loss at the polls in 2022 to Dickon Mitchell of the Congress party.