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by pltm
(PLTM) - First District Representative, Hon. Andrew Fahie has no immediate plans to seek the position of Opposition Leader in light of his recent election to Chairman of the Virgin Islands Party (VIP). Hon. Julian Fraser, who party delegates replaced earlier this week with Hon. Fahie at the Congress, is the sitting Opposition Leader.
In response to questions from the media, Hon. Fahie, who had once sought the position following the party's major loss at the June 2015 general elections, said it is a matter for the Governor.
"It's something that deals with the Governor, so I will not be running behind that to create any confusion like that...My aim is to build the Virgin Islands Party and to leave it better than I met it. So I am just going to focus on that and the rest is in the hands of God," he said.
When further pressed, Hon. Fahie insisted, "I don’t want to do anything that people perceive as dividing us. That is not my aim...I don’t want to press into that matter...Above my pay-scale; that is the Governor’s call and as the Chairman of the Virgin Islands Party, that is what I am going to stick with (building VIP)."
In July of last year, Governor John Duncan had to exercise his discretionary powers under the Constitution to appoint a Leader of the Opposition after members of the opposition in the House of Assembly (Hon. Fahie and Hon. Fraser) were unable to come to an agreement.
Governor Duncan had stated that in reaching his decision, he took expert advice, considered carefully the representations made to him by the members of the opposition, as well as a number of other criteria, in particular, past practice in the Territory and other jurisdictions.
Further, he took into consideration the current and past positions held by the two candidates; their seniority in terms of dates of appointment to ministerial positions and length of term served in those posts; and the advice of the United Kingdom Privy Council in a matter similar to the matter under consideration.
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