NDC member resigns days before convention

William Joseph

By Linda Straker

An influential member in the National Democratic Congress (NDC), who served as the first Chief-of-Staff in the Office of the Prime Minister during the Tillman Thomas administration and was critical for scripting its election manifestos, has resigned from the Party.

William Joseph’s resignation from the NDC comes days before the party holds its first convention on February 2, 2014 following the crushing defeat in the February 19, 2013 general elections in which no
candidate was elected to represent a constituency in the Lower House of Parliament.

Joseph, who is also Grenada’s immediate former Ambassador to Caricom and the OECS, tendered his resignation letter to General Secretary Bernard Isaac over the weekend.

In his letter of resignation, Joseph was highly critical of deputy political leader Nazim Burke, who he is accusing of “serious misconduct”. He also contends that Burke is not fit to be the Party’s new leader.

Tillman Thomas recently announced that he will not contest the leadership of the National Democratic Congress in the upcoming convention, which is being held at a yet-to-be-disclosed venue. The election of a new executive is the main outcome at the convention.

Party officials says that Burke, who is presently the deputy political leader, is seen by some as the
natural new head, but a significant number of senior and executive members are not in favour of that choice. That issue is believed to be responsible for a growing division within the party’s membership.

At its 2012 convention, growing discord within the NDC resulted in the expelling of a number of
executive and senior members, including former ministers Peter David, Karl Hood, Arley Gill and Glynis Roberts.

In the aftermath of the devastating defeat at the 2013 polls, Thomas admitted that the infighting and the expulsion in “some ways” contributed to the outcome of the election.