United Front's Letter To Mr. Leoy Rogers

Anguilla United Front

June 6, 2004

Hon. Leroy Rogers
Shoal Bay
Anguilla

Dear Roy

We very much regret that you did not attend the meeting of the Executive Members of the Anguilla United Front (AUF) on Wednesday June 2, 2004. But we do appreciate the fact that you are submitted a letter setting out your claim to selection as the AUF candidate for the Valley North Constituency in the next elections and, on the assumption that you would not be selected, informed the Party that you will contest the next general elections as a matter of principle. While we must consider your strong sentiments, we firmly believe that an amicable resolution of this matter may have been better served by your presence.

Your letter raises issues that should be considered in the specific circumstances of the selection of the candidate for Valley North. They should also be taken into account generally in guiding the process of selecting AUF candidates on an ongoing basis.

The Party has been faced for some time, as you have pointed out in your letter, with a choice between Mr. Neil Rogers and yourself as its candidate to contest the next general elections in Valley North. You presented in your letter the basis for your claim to selection as the AUF candidate, in very strong terms. You may likewise image that similarly strong views were put forward in the meeting and elsewhere to many of these claims.

It is our duty (not a happy one) to officially inform you of the selection that has been made and to address the main considerations, which have informed our decision.

The Party Executive at its meeting of Wednesday June 2, gave careful consideration to the principles and issues, to be considered in reaching a decision on the matter. We also reflected at length on the contents of your letter. We were and are fully cognizant of the sensitivity and the controversy surrounding the issue. Nevertheless, despite that difficulty, we came to a decision, guided by our commitment to follow democratic principles in determining challenging and controversial questions, always mindful that the interest of the people of Anguilla should take precedence over other considerations in these matters.

We wish to inform you that the Executive of the AUF has accepted the recommendation from the representatives of the Party in the Valley North Constituency that Mr. Neil Rogers be selected as its candidate in the 2005 General Elections. In accepting the recommendation, great weight was placed on the involvement and participation of the party representatives and supporters in Valley North in the process of arriving at a decision.

Your claim to selection as a candidate is based principally on an understanding between you and the leadership of the two partners, the Anguilla National Alliance and the Anguilla Democratic Party, which forged the historic alliance of 2000 to form the Anguilla United Front. The terms of the formal agreement creating the United Front was and is contained in the Party’s 2000 Manifesto signed by the two partners of the United Front. The leadership of the Party has sought to live up to and fulfil as many of the commitments in the Manifesto as possible within the current five year term, as the Government of Anguilla.

There was an understanding among the leadership of the AUF at its creation that they would be supportive of your candidacy for Valley North in the 2005 elections to succeed the Hon. Eric Reid. In a situation in which other prospective candidates could offer themselves for selection, this would always present challenges. Further, the sentiments of Party representatives and supporters in the constituency would have to be considered in the selection process, irrespective of any understandings between the leadership. Indeed the rank and file of the constituencies should have a key role to play in deciding on their respective candidates.

You have called on the Party leadership as a matter of principle to fulfil the understanding with you and to select you as the Valley North candidate. We feel constrained however to be guided by the sentiment of the majority of party representatives and supporters in the constituency. Indeed as a matter of democratic principle we must accord great significance to the process at the constituency level, where more than one individual offers himself for selection as the candidate. We cannot disregard a central principle of party democracy, which requires the leadership to fully take on board the wishes of the rank and file of the party in the selection of candidates.

The authority of the leadership of the Party may not take precedence over the views and sentiments of the constituency members and supporters on matters such as the selection of candidates. The leadership must engage the constituency representatives and supporters and challenge their views and sentiments, in cases where the leadership’s views differ from those of the constituency groups.

The pursuit of objectives such as succession planning, the retirement of new and younger candidates and the promotion of women in politics are vital and we must seek constantly to make progress in these areas. However, when all is said and done, the Party leadership and the party rank and file should arrive at a common position on the selection of the candidate, based on the preferences of the majority, to ensure the Party the best chance of success in elections.

We appeal to you to recognize that the interest of the people of Anguilla and the right of party supporters and members to be fully engaged in determining weighty questions such as the selection of candidates should take precedence over our individual goals and objectives.

Your contribution to Anguilla has been enormous and to the United Front, invaluable. Your tenure as Speaker has been outstanding and the United Front will always be deeply grateful for your principled leadership during a difficult period in Anguilla’s constitutional history and development. Nevertheless, it is noteworthy that your contribution to Anguilla’s growth has been part of a wider team effort, in which many members of the United Front have played their parts. Indeed it has been necessary for some members to assume roles, which have not always been their first preferences. But we all (including yourself) have made allowances for the sake of the team effort and the good of the people of Anguilla.

We appeal to you once again to exercise your statemanship, your patriotism and your commitment to team effort and remain within the ranks of the United Front. We appeal to you to consider the significant progress made over the past four and a half years in the overall development of Anguilla and in advancing the cause of democracy, as a result of the creation of the United Front. We strongly appeal to you in particular, in this context, to reconsider your decision to contest the elections outside the ranks of the United Front.

We remain ready and willing to continue dialogue with you, to find common ground to maintain the unity and comradeship enjoyed with you and to continue to rely on your input into our efforts to take Anguilla forward.

We therefore invite you to meet with the Executive of the United Front at your earliest convenience.

Thank you very much for your loyalty to the AUF and your work on behalf of the people of Anguilla.

Your colleagues,

Osbourne B. Fleming
Political Leader
Victor F. Banks
Deputy Political Leader