Nicole: I can run Bahadur: She can’t

However, Dyer-Griffith says her application to rejoin the party was accepted and ratified by the COP’s then executive.

Jameson and Griffith, in separate interviews, gave contrasting perspectives on the outcome of the party’s National Council meeting held last Sunday at the COP Operations Centre in Charlieville.

Dyer-Griffith wants to run as a candidate for the position of political leader against candidates Sharon Gopaul-McNicol and Carolyn Seepersad- Bachan.

Bahadur said Dyer-Griffith is a friend whom he would like to see contribute to the party.

PROCESS FLAWED While the COP national executive meets next Monday on the matter, Bahadur said Dyer-Griffith is unlikely to be eligible to stand, as she must be an ordinary member for at least six months before she can vie for such a position.

Bahadur claimed Dyer-Griffith never properly underwent the process to rejoin the party.

He said she must present a letter from the Alliance of Independents (AOI) – the party she founded after leaving the COP – to confirm her resignation.

The CoP natex must interview her before deciding on whether to approve her application to rejoin the party. If approved, she must then wait for at least six months before being eligible to contest the party’s elections.

Bahadur said while Dyer- Griffith is “a good person with many strengths and my friend”, he cannot violate the COP constitution.

Bahadur said if the National Executive decides to re-admit her as a member and waive the six-month waiting period, they would be setting a very bad precedent.

‘I AM VALID’ For her part, Dyer-Griffith told Newsday she is a valid candidate approved by the party’s then leadership who however, have all since resigned from the party. She said the country is facing many issues and citizens are worried about more pressing matters than the COP election.

“A little organisation doing acrobatics to keep one person out pales on a daily basis to these other things happening.

So this election has not moved me as much as some people would think because there are just too many other issues to deal with,” Dyer-Griffith said.

She did not think the conclusion made at Sunday’s COP National Council meeting — that effectively rules her out as a candidate in the leadership election — actually meets the order given by the High Court for the natex to meet to deliberate on the election.

“Let me speak directly to the thousands of people who support my candidacy. I did what needed to be done. I went through the process.” She said her application for membership had been validly accepted by three top COP post-holders at the time — political leader, deputy political leader and general secretary — who had issued her an acceptance letter and membership card and allowed her candidacy to proceed.

“All those processes were done by people representing the party,” she said.

Saying the attempt to block her candidacy can potentially cause the COP irreparable damage, Dyer-Griffith said, “What has played out is best left for the judgement of the court of public opinion. Democracy should not be stolen at all costs.”