When we left you on Friday night it was with the news that the UDP's John Saldivar had been rejected by the Special Committee, but was awaiting an appeal before the National Party Council.
His release on Friday night said, that the Special Committee has, quote "referred the matter of my continued candidacy for the Belmopan Constituency to the National Party Council after a narrow vote against my candidacy….The final decision lies with the NPC…."
Well, a release from Leader Shyne Barrow on Saturday basically said that his one time road dog has it all wrong: NOTHING was referred. Shyne's release says that the Special Committee's decision, quote, "on John Saldivar's alleged corruption and its impact on the UDP Institution binding and final. The binding decision by the Special Committee on John Saldivar that it is in the best interest of the Party that Mr Saldivar's candidacy be disallowed is with immediate effect." End quote.
Barrow adds that as a consequence of this, Saldivar must also immediately relinquish his positions as interim Caretaker for Belmopan and Western Regional Leader.
He does agree that Saldivar may appeal the decision to the NPC - but what he doesn't say is that he must do this by petitioning an emergency meeting of the NPC - which will require close to two-hundred signatures. Even if he does get this, insiders suggest that the NPC may not be in any great rush to meet - and, indeed, a Belmopan convention without Saldivar - could be held before he is able to get that hearing.
Of course, this is just one possible scenario, and, we all know that in the UDP right now, the deck is stacked with jokers, and those jokers are always wild.
