‘Shugy’ says he is back on the Campaign trail and enjoying strong support from St. Mary’s South Constituents

The United Progressive Party (UPP) candidate for St. Mary’s South,
Kelvin “Shugy” Simon, has already begun to campaign, and the
response from constituents has been overwhelming, he says. 
Simon tendered his resignation from the Lower House of Parliament
yesterday, June 7, and, shortly after, issued a public statement on his
decision.

The letter was delivered to the law office of Sir Gerald Watt, KC,
Speaker of the House, and the Government now has 120 days, by
law, to call a by-election in that constituency. 
Simon says he decided to resign since a pending court case
–challenging his General Election victory – is taking too long to be
heard and could be dragged out even further.

He explains that interests of the Antigua Labour Party are seeking to
have the Court declare his election illegal and to have Samantha
Marshall, the then-incumbent, declared the winner in St. Mary’s
South.

But Simon does not believe the Court should decide on who sits in
Parliament; rather, that should be the decision of the people, who
overwhelmingly elected him on January 18, he says.
Simon reports that he and his colleagues hit the ground running
after his announcement, and the encouragement he is receiving is
overwhelming.

In fact, a short video now in circulation captures one constituent
vociferously declaring her support for the UPP candidate – despite
the prime minister’s assertion that the Labour Party will retake the
seat. 

The UPP candidate says the people of St. Mary’s South do not want
to see Marshall and have expressed disappointment in her poor
leadership over nine years.

Meanwhile, Simon says his decision and announcement – a strategic
move – have caught the Antigua Labour Party off-guard. And he is
confident of another win – in which Marshall might lose by a much
bigger margin this time around.

Referring to the buying of votes and undertaking constituency
projects just weeks or days before an election, Simon says the time
has come to get past this type of politics, which Browne and
Marshall have been peddling for years.