The Tribune

MEMBERS of the Police Staff Association are crticising their president, claiming he wants to conduct elections in an irregular manner next month.

The disgruntled officers, who want to remain anonymous, claim that a number of recent steps taken by Darrell Weir could cast the fairness of the vote in doubt – a claim the association president rejects.

The officers claim Mr Weir is breaking the rules by holding the annual vote in January, when their regulations clearly state this process must be carried out between late November and early December – a decision they claim he made on his own, without the approval of the executive board.

Now, they say, Mr Weir is seeking to exclude the Ministry of National Security from the election process, also, they claim, in contravention of the rules.

And, it is claimed, Mr Weir told the government-appointed election chairperson she would not be overseeing the process this year.

The officers say they are concerned that these moves will affect the transparency of the election process and could compromise the results.

They are particularly concerned about the vote in Grand Bahama, where they claim the only person to check the ballot box and oversee the process is an employee of the current executive team.

They feel Mr Weir’s changes to the election procedure will not be stopped by the government because he is a supporter of the Progressive Liberal Party.

For his part, Mr Weir dismissed the claims as “hearsay.”

He said elections are held every year, and were held this year in January, before adding that he did not want to comment further.

“I don’t think this is anything for us to be discussing in the public,” he said. “I’m not prepared to discuss the matters of the Police Staff Association in the press.”

In addition to the controversy surrounding the election, the concerned officers say questions have loomed over the use of association finances through the administration of successive executive teams.

They called for a detailed and independent audit covering the last 12 years.