Symister says resignation puts an end to case brought by ALP interests against Simon, former MP for St. Mary’s South

Attorney-at-law Leon Chaku Symister is laying to rest any concerns
that – in spite of the resignation of former MP Kelvin “Shugy” Simon
– the High Court case against him will proceed. 

Rather, the attorney says, the matter is now dead, although there are
some formalities that must be taken before the Court.

Meanwhile, Symister, a spokesman for the United Progressive Party
(UPP) and adviser to Simon, is rejecting the claims of certain
members of the Antigua Labour Party (ALP), who say that Simon
took the easy way out because he would have lost the case.

ALP interests have challenged Simon’s election to the Lower House,
claiming he was not qualified to be elected since he was still a public
servant on Nomination Day.

Symister says that Simon had a strong enough case for a victory in
the High Court and in any appeal that might have followed.
However, the UPP candidate did not want the public to say the Court
handed him a win. Instead, he preferred to allow the people of St.
Mary’s South to elect him again – and overwhelmingly so.

An initial date for hearing the case had been set for the last week of
June but was rescheduled to July.

Symister notes that, with the issues plaguing the High Court and its
limited hours of operation, there would have been further
uncertainty about the time in which the matter would be concluded.
That, he says, was another factor influencing Simon’s decision.