Prime Minister, Rt. Hon. Dean Barrow, announced on Wednesday May 16 the timeline for the succession in leadership of the United Democratic Party to take place. He said that conventions will be set for representatives in the various constituencies to start in November and are to be concluded by the end of January early February of 2019. After this, delegate conventions will be held to select delegates that would attend and vote at the UDP National Convention. That process should be finished by March of 2019, thereafter the date for the leadership convention will be set and it is expected that it would be no later than May of that year.
With the timeline set, the Party Leader stated that under the UDP constitution, when there is a leadership election during the last parliamentary term of the incumbent leader, the elected leader does not take up the position immediately but because rather the leader-elect holds that position until the House of Representatives is dissolved and the date set for the general elections.
For his part however the Party Leader noted that he has every intention with consultation and agreement of the party to demit office after the Leadership Convention has been held. He concluded, “I do not intend to wait until the parliamentary term comes to an end.”
