PSA candidates unhappy over election results delay
Nixon Callender -
Candidates who ran in the elections for the Public Services Association (PSA) executive are not pleased at the delay in the results, with one suggesting the slow counting was a ploy to tilt the outcome in favour of a particular contender.
The elections were held on Monday after three years of legal battles stemming from former candidate Solomon Gabriel s concerns over the voters list in 2017.
Initial results posted on the PSA s Facebook page on Tuesday suggested sitting president Watson Duke was in the lead, with Oral Saunders running a distant second. These figures were later deleted.
Official PSA election results yet to be declared
Curtis Cuffie -
After more than a day of counting ballots, the official results of the Public Services Association (PSA) elections were not declared up to 6 pm on Tuesday.
Speaking with Newsday earlier on Tuesday, sitting PSA president Watson Duke predicted the last of the ballots should have been counted by 5 pm but officials were unable to give any confirmation on an official winner up to an hour later.
Newsday understands the PSA s election officer Selwyn Malcolm was the only person counting ballots which led to the slow pace of results.
The election which was held on Monday was the result of three years of legal battles which began when former candidate Solomon Gabriel filed a lawsuit over concerns of a flawed voters list in 2017.
30,000 eligible to vote in PSA election today
Monday 14 December 2020
In this file photo, Public Service Association (PSA) president Watson Duke speaking to the media at the PSA head office on Abrercromby Street. - SUREASH CHOLAI
Around 30,000 public servants are eligible to vote in the Public Services Association (PSA) election today.
The election has been due since 2017.
On Sunday, PSA president Watson Duke told Newsday he will not let anything jeopardise the integrity or halt the election process. He is confident his team will win.
The election was originally set for November 23 but was postponed on November 16 after Justice Nadia Kangaloo detected irregularities in the final voters list presented by the election committee.
PSA elections set for Monday after 2-year delay cnc3.co.tt - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from cnc3.co.tt Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
PSA to the polls on Monday
MEMBERS of the Public Services Association (PSA) will go to the polls on Monday.
On Friday the lawsuit which led to the election being postponed from last month was withdrawn, paving the way for the election to be held.
But Curtis Cuffie, leader of Concerned Public Officers, one of the slates contesting the election, said the matter was “still very troubling,” since the voters’ list, which the court had deemed not satisfactory, was “still bad.”
At a virtual hearing last month, the list presented to Justice Nadia Kangaloo was said to be still not satisfactory. The PSA’s election committee had been given another week to publish a satisfactory final list before they return to court. The judge also warned, the court would get involved if the irregularities identified were not corrected.