The opposition Virgin Islands Party kicked off a “review period” at an April 23 general meeting in preparation for selecting a new general committee later this month, the party announced.But the VIP appears to have breached its own constitution by not holding meetings earlier.

 

New executives will be elected by party members on May 28, according to a press release from the party. This may leave plenty of time for future candidates to prepare for the general election expected late next year, but the party elections are more than two years late, according to the VIP’s own constitution.

If the VIP fails to form a government immediately after a general election — as happened in November 2011 — the party’s constitution requires that officers be elected within three months. But that never occurred: The party has neither chosen officers nor publicly announced a general meeting since it was relegated to the opposition.

In May, the party will elect a chairman, president, vice president, secretary, assistant secretary, treasurer, assistant treasurer, public relations officer and assistant public relations officer, according to the press release.

A consultant and former president for the party, Carvin Malone, said he couldn’t speak to the reasons executive officers weren’t elected previously.

“The fact is they weren’t held, and we are making amends by following the constitution and having them now,” Mr. Malone said this week.

Several calls to other VIP representatives, including Opposition Leader and Party Chairman Ralph O’Neal (R-D9), Julian Fraser (R-D3), and Andrew Fahie (R-D1), were not returned.

 

See the May 1, 2014 edition for full coverage.

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