PPA makes 180 degree turn!
The party said it was unable to recruit sufficient candidates to contest the polls after a three year process of trying to find persons.
“Only two of the original 2011 Candidate slate are still with the group and the intention was to recruit sufficient candidates to participate in moving towards a new political philosophy, where merit comes before privilege; administered for all and not the few, strong and sure of itself at home and abroad and one in which we all feel part of, in whose future we all have a stake,” said a press release from the party last night.
The release said that, according to 2011 Territorial Candidate Ms Shaina M. Smith, “We have been meeting with persons over the past three years; however, we have been unable to assemble a viable team of candidates in time for the upcoming elections 2015/2016.”
Jumping Ship?
There remains speculation that Smith is planning to join the National Democratic Party (NDP), even though she has outrightly denied this.
In an exclusive interview with this news site back in January 2015, Ms Shaina M. Smith had confirmed that she would not be running in the next elections with the NDP, neither At-Large nor in any district, or has she joined that party.
“The PPA is in the process of organising a team to contest as a viable option in the next elections,” she had said.
When pressed about allegations that she has been approached by the NDP to run in the first district, she neither confirmed nor denied that she was approached, however, Ms Smith, an Engineer and a former civil servant, told our newsroom “I am with the PPA. How can I run on two slates?”
When this news site made contact with Smith today, Monday March 16, 2015, she said, "I have no comment at this time. When I am ready to say something I will put out another statement."
Mr Elton Callwood, the other remaining 2011 Territorial Candidate, said according to the release that “I am disappointed that we weren’t able to assemble a viable team, for I still believe there is a desperate need for a third political movement, one that will renew faith in politics by being honest, transparent and accountable, one that realises that we cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them and one that will govern in the best interest of the broad majority of people, those who work hard, play by the rules, pay their dues and currently feel let down by a political system that gives the breaks to the few.”
“We would like to thank all our family, friends and supporters who have supported this movement and encourage fellow Virgin Islanders and residents of the territory to stay vigilant and participate in the governance of our country by holding our leaders accountable for a progressive national plan that will take our country forward,” the release quoted Callwood as saying.
See our earlier story here:
http://www.virginislandsnewsonline.com/en/news/i-will-not-be-running-with-the-ndp-shaina-m-smith
30 Responses to “PPA makes 180 degree turn!”