UPP objects to Thomas as ABEC chair, noting fallout from his FTX connection and integrity concerns

The credibility of the Antigua and Barbuda Electoral Commission
(ABEC) is being placed in peril with the appointment of a new
chairman in the person of Arthur Thomas.
 
This is the belief of United Progressive Party (UPP) Chairman
D.Gisele Isaac, who, on behalf of the Party, says this is not the time
and Thomas is not the man to head ABEC.
 
Thomas – who was expected to be sworn in as ABEC’s new chairman
– replaces former chair John Jarvis, who died in January and was
buried earlier this week.
 
In a press release put out on Thursday night, February 15, the UPP
objected to the appointment of Thomas as chairman of the electoral
body, as it did initially on January 24.
 
The Party says its objection is rooted in questions about Thomas’
integrity in the wake of his two recent resignations:

On account of his association with Sam Bankman-Fried – the
convicted founder of FTX, the failed cryptocurrency giant –
Thomas stepped down from his positions at the Caribbean Union
Bank (CUB) and the Eastern Caribbean Securities Regulatory
Commission.

“If his connection to these entities was enough for him to resign,
why should he head the body charged with safeguarding the
practice of fair elections?” the Opposition party asks.

Isaac says that Prime Minister Gaston Browne’s failure even to
acknowledge the objections to Thomas’ appointment shows his
disregard not only for the Opposition, but for the people of Antigua
and Barbuda.

Meanwhile, Isaac notes that the objection is not a “personal” attack
on Thomas, but has to do with respect for the office he will hold.
Accordingly, she says his appointment is not morally right.

The Party insists that the position at ABEC demands not only
personal integrity, but the ability to engender the trust of the Nation,
Isaac says.

With Thomas’ reputation already under a cloud, and with Bankman-
Fried’s second trial – on his foreign holdings – to begin in March ,
Isaac says it is not wise for the prime minister to appoint the
attorney to head ABEC.
 
And she fears that Browne and Thomas are both telling the Nation
that they do not care, as long as their objectives are met.
 
According to the UPP chairman, Prime Minister Browne continues to
show that Antigua and Barbuda is no longer a democracy, but is
being run like a dictatorship.
 
Meanwhile, UPP Political Leader Jamale Pringle notes that former
ABEC Chairman Jarvis enjoyed the respect and esteem of a wide
cross-section of the society.
 
However, Pringle adds, at this point in Thomas’ career, the same
cannot be said of him.
 
Going forward, “the Leadership of the United Progressive Party says
it will continue to object – in all national, regional and international
forums – to Mr. Thomas’ appointment.”
 
The Party is also appealing to Thomas, himself, in the interest of
preserving the integrity of the office and in fostering public trust in
ABEC, to decline this appointment.