BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – The expelled leader of the main opposition Democratic Labour Party (DLP), Dr. Ronnie Yearwood, is hoping that the party’s annual general conference later this week, will reverse the decision to remove him and the former general secretary, Steve Blackett.
Dr. Ronnie YearwoodThe annual general conference is scheduled for August 23 and 24. and Yearwood told reporters he remained optimistic that decision taken last Thursday to remove him and Blackett would be reversed.
In a notice to DLP members, the party’s acting General Secretary Pedro Sheperd following the party’s General Council meeting announced that the suspended Yearwood and Blackett had been expelled from the party.
They had been suspended from office over developments largely connected to their opposition to the party’s new political leader, Ralph Thorne, who had crossed over from the ruling Barbados Labour Party (BLP).
“I think what happened Thursday night was a dark day for democracy in Barbados and for the party, and it’s a historic moment. They will look back on this moment in a couple of years and recognise we were at a fork in the road,” said Yearwood, who in August 2023 was elected leader of the opposition party for a two year period.
The University of the West Indies (UWI) law lecturer insists that his expulsion from the party was not done right, saying “it is clear that it was not above board.
“It doesn’t pass the basic smell test. It doesn’t explain the nature of the disciplinary committee that had in people who were obviously biased. How can you expect justice of any kind? What are the bases of the charges? None of it stacks up.”
He said that the DLP, which suffered two consecutive white wash defeats in the last two general elections when it lost all 30 seats in the Parliament, still has a chance of changing its fortunes.
“The party and the country have a choice. The question is, do we do politics the normal way or do we want something new? Do we want opportunities for new leadership for youth, for women, for that millennial generation to come into our cycle?”
Blackett said he felt hurt by last Thursday expulsion and urged the membership to rise up to make wrong things right during the DLP’s annual general conference.
