The election would have pitted incumbent president Ricky Skerritt and his vice-president Kishore Shallow, against challengers Anand Sanasie of Guyana and Calvin Hope of Barbados. The event was, however, called off after a quorum could not be reached, following the absence of representatives from Barbados and Guyana.
The reason presented by both the Guyana Cricket Board and Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) is that Cricket West Indies (CWI) had failed to observe protocol by submitting an audited financial statement 14 days before the AGM.
The JCA, through a release issued on Monday, claims the decision to postpone the election, once again spoke to the need for government reform.
“This occurrence which is potentially damaging to the reputation of the people in the Caribbean as well as those in the diaspora highlights the urgent need for change to the structure of CWI,” the release read.
JCA president Wilford Heaven, a part of the CWI finance committee, responsible for distributing the financial report called the inability to reach a quorum regrettable. He claimed that five regional boards had already agreed to waive the 14-day requirement for the consolidated report. The fault, Heaven explained, was that of the auditors and as such there was little the CWI could do.
“We have to ensure that this does not happen again in West Indies cricket. I believe it is an embarrassment to everyone concerned and its obvious that we need for better governance to ensure better leadership,” Heaven said.
“The Wehby report is an outstanding agenda item that we now need to pay serious attention to. It is now even more important given what happened to the AGM.”
On Monday, the GCB elected Guyana businessman Bissoondyal Singh to the post of president of the association, with Rabindranauth Saywack and Hilbert Foster set to serve as vice-presidents and Ronald Williams named secretary.
Sanasie is part of a two-man slate set to challenge incumbent vice CWI president Ricky Skerritt, with Barbados’ Calvin Hope set to challenge Shallow for the vice-presidency. Following the election, however, Sanasie would no longer be a member of the board, and as such speculation arose regarding the future of the challenge. Shallow, however, expects Sanasie to be on the slate when the election takes place on April 11.
“Independent persons can be nominated for the post of president and vice-president, so he is not automatically disqualified,” Shallow explained.
“You don’t have to be a voting member or a shareholder to be eligible to be a candidate and that means both his and the nomination of his running mate would stand at this point,” he added.
The CWI elections were scheduled to be held last weekend but was postponed after a quorum could not be reached, following the absence of representatives from Guyana and Barbados.
Doubts had been raised regarding the viability of the former secretary of the GCB’s candidacy, following the election of a new executive on Monday. Losing his position on the CWI board would not necessarily have meant the end of Sanasie’s candidacy but serious doubts were raised regarding the ability to garner support from his home country. Sanasie's running mate, Calivn Hope of Barbados, also announced his withdrawal.
The deposed official, however, continues to question the legitimacy of the election that he claims were influenced by partisan actions on the part of the Guyana sports minister.
“Unjust, irregular, imprudent and hasty actions taken by the partisan and compromised Minister of Sport in Guyana, Mr. Charles Ramson Jr, have led to dubious GCB elections being held and a new group purporting to be the new executive installed. I am advised by my legal team that these elections cannot withstand judicial scrutiny which may arise and which have every possibility of prevailing. It should also be noted that the court-ordered Demerara Cricket Board election is very likely to be set aside,” Sanasie stated in the press realease.
He went on to claim that the meetings with the sports minister were held without the then nominated GCB directors despite their objections. Sanasie also claimed that there was attempted impropriety at last week’s CWI annual general meeting, which was to feature the leadership election.
“…there was an attempt to hold an Annual General Meeting and Presidential and Vice Presidential Elections without critical requirements outlined by the Articles of Association being complied with. This attempt, until it was thwarted at the last minute, remains cause for serious concern by those who have an interest in good governance of CWI. A major scandal was averted by the judicious and prudent actions of the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) and the Guyana Cricket Board to save CWI global embarrassment and ridicule.”
He, however, also extended congratulations to incumbent president Ricky Skerritt who will head into next weekend’s elections unopposed.
“Consequently, I take this opportunity to extend congratulations and best wishes to Mr. Ricky Skerritt since he will be uncontested. I urge that more deliberate efforts be made to strengthen the finances of CWI and to improve in the areas of prudent fiscal management, accountability and transparency. I also urge that greater respect be accorded to Territorial Boards and that there is considerably more inclusivity in executive decision making and corporate governance.”
