BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – “I think the incumbent should do the proper thing and tender his resignation. I do not see how the country as a whole and the country after the election with the decision taken by the people, will or can be comfortable with Mr. Lawrence as Governor-General.”
This is according to former Parliamentarian G. A. Dwyer Astaphan who expressed these sentiments during a recent exclusive interview with SKNVibes.
According to Astaphan, events stretching as far back as two years leading up to the February 16, 2015 General Elections show that His Excellency Sir Edmund Lawrence should relinquish the position he holds.
“The Election, the outcome of it, given the events from the two years prior to the election from the Motion of No Confidence on December 11, 2012, his refusal to acknowledge communication, far less reply to them, from the Opposition Leader and Opposition representative and a number of other things, he could have helped, he could have used his authority as the Governor-General…” Astaphan asserted.
The former Parliamentarian believes that it would be best if Sir Edmund resigns, but indicated that whether he does or not, he does not see it “institutionally feasible” for him to continue in that office.
“Although we are all sinners and can have our epiphanies, I don’t see how this can be institutionally feasible for him to continue, and I think the honourable thing for him to do would be to stand down from the office. He should be discontinued, he should not continue in that post. And there is a mechanism by which that can be done elegantly, but he should take the first step in the process of elegance and seamlessly, in terms of transitioning, remove himself.”
Either way however, Astaphan indicated, “I don’t see how he could stay.”
Astaphan was asked specifically who he would suggest to fill the post of Governor-General should Lawrence resign or be removed from the office. And while he said there is a “good pool” from which to choose, he refrained from identifying anyone.
“We have a number of outstanding citizens and I wouldn’t want to venture to name any lest I forget to name others. But I think there is a good pool of human resource. We have some eminently qualified persons in terms of their experience and their characracter and reputation and their ability to appreciate the responsibilities and the nobility that come along with holding that highest office in the land.”
Sir Edmund Lawrence was sworn in as Governor-General on January 2, 2013 and is the successor to His Excellency Sir Cuthbert Sebastian who resigned from that post on the previous day, having dedicated 17 years to serve in that capacity.
