(CMC) – The St Vincent and the Grenadines Parliament has approved legislation allowing public servants to contest national or local elections and suffer no loss of employment or benefits if they are unsuccessful at the polls.
Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves, who piloted the amendment to the Representation of the People Act, which received bi-partisan support, said that the principle behind it “has had a gestation period since independence” in 1979.
Gonsalves said that at the time of independence, it was contended that people up to a certain level in the teaching, police and public service as well as the medical and nursing professions should be allowed to contest elections without having to resign their posts and lose all accrued benefits, whether they win or lose.
Gonsalves, who is also the Minister of National Security, said it was clear that no one “who is clothed with authority in respect of security” should be allowed to contest elections.
Among these, he mentioned police officers, maritime administration staff or offices “where you can use your authority to do something with an individual’s liberty or with their property”.
He told legislators that the “narrow group” of public servants to be barred from contesting elections also includes legal officers and people in senior positions in the government, such as permanent secretaries and heads of departments.
Despite the change in the law, magistrates, registrars, legal officers, the deputy director of audits, deputy accountant general, deputy controller of customs and exercise, the deputy comptroller of inland revenue, the deputy supervisor of elections and the director of Maritime Administration are barred from contesting national elections without resigning their posts.
Diplomats, assistant directors of public prosecution, the chief agricultural officer, the chief engineer, the chief education officer, and other senior positions “all the way down to supervisor of elections” also cannot contest national elections without resigning their posts.
A public servant who wishes to contest an election must be absent on leave during the election. To do so, they can take accrued leave or leave without pay.
Gonsalves said that with the change in the law, a qualifying public sector worker who takes leave to contest a general election and is elected to office would be taken to have retired from the public office.
He said the pension laws will be amended to take account of the years of service that the person had provided before being elected to Parliament.
