Outgoing Member of Parliament for Vieux Fort South and former Prime Minister Dr. Kenny D. Anthony has officially bowed out of elective politics. Speaking at a public meeting in Vieux Fort on Wednesday night, Dr. Anthony confirmed that he would not be contesting the next general election and emphasized that he would not be involved in the process to choose his successor.
“The rules of the Saint Lucia Labour Party are simple,” Dr. Anthony explained. “The constituency executive is required to send out an invitation at the behest of the party to identify those persons who are interested in being candidates. This can be done even though you have a sitting parliamentarian, as happened in my case.”
Once expressions of interest are received, the process moves into its assessment phase. “At some point, on a signal given by the party, the constituency executive is required to interview the candidates, assess them, and rank them,” Anthony said. “In other words, the executive is to say who in their opinion is the number one candidate. Who is number two? Who is number three? And then number four.”
According to Dr. Anthony, the party’s selection committee then reviews the rankings and recommends a preferred candidate to the political leader of the SLP — currently Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre, who has the final say on the matter.
“Sometimes, if the selection committee is deeply split, it may decide to resort to other tools to determine who is your preferred candidate,” he noted.
While he emphasised his respect for the party’s internal procedures, Dr. Anthony made it clear he would not play a role in choosing the next SLP candidate for Vieux Fort South.
“I want to make it clear that I have no desire to be involved,” he said. “In actual fact, while I respect my party’s approach, my party’s rules, I remain a great believer in runoffs to select candidates, provided that the process is well managed and rendered safe from corrupt practices.”
He reiterated that his position was nothing new, stating, “I am on record, I have said so before, and I merely repeat my own article of faith.” With his retirement now official, all eyes turn to the SLP’s internal machinery as it prepares to name a new standard-bearer for one of the party’s strongest constituencies.
