Antigua judge nullifies PM’s election, but gov’t quickly appeals to stay constitutional crisis

Antigua judge nullifies PM’s election

ST JOHN’S, Antigua — A judge ruled Wednesday that Antigua’s prime minister and two other lawmakers were improperly elected last year, a decision potentially threatening the governing party’s narrow hold on power in this Caribbean country.

In a packed courtroom, High Court Justice Louise Blenman ruled the March 2009 elections of Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer and two other United Progressive Party legislators were not valid, largely due to the late start of voting in their districts.

Spencer’s party quickly secured a stay until April 16 so it could appeal the ruling. “This matter will be squarely within the Court of Appeal” by then, party attorney Leon Symister said.

Unless it is overturned, the decision would seemingly pave the way for by-elections in those three districts or even fresh general elections. Losing three seats for now would leave the governing coalition tied with the opposition in Parliament.

Attorney General Justin Simon said the twin-island nation of Antigua and Barbuda is not in a constitutional crisis. He said he advised Spencer and the two other lawmakers — Jacqui Quinn-Leandro and John Maginley — to report to work as usual.

Leaving the courtroom after the hearing, Spencer said: “The status quo remains the same. The United Progressive Party is still the government of Antigua and Barbuda.”

Members of the opposition Antigua Labor Party celebrated with an impromptu rally outside the courthouse. They declared the ruling a victory for the party that governed for 28 years before the United Progressive Party won office in 2004.

“This is the first part of the victory and we’re going to take it home to make sure there is a change in government,” Labor Party Chairman Gaston Browne said.

Last year’s election gave Spencer’s party nine of Parliament’s 17 seats, down from 12 in the previous assembly. The Barbuda People’s Movement, which is allied with Spencer, also won a seat, while the Labor Party got seven.

The country has been struggling with a budget gap worsened by a drop in tourism and the collapse of R. Allen Stanford’s Antigua-based financial empire. The Texas financier helped fund the government and was the country’s largest private employer until U.S. authorities accused him of defrauding investors in his offshore bank.

Earlier this month, Spencer’s government announced that the International Monetary Fund agreed to lend the country $124 million over three years.