TTSL members to deliberate after EGM aborted

The EGM was called specifically to elect replacements for then-president Lee Davis, first vice president Eddison Dean and ordinary member Nicholas Gopaul who all resigned three weeks ago after being accused of not carrying out the interests of their membership.

Davis had said he thought the membership was on the same page following conversations to chart a way forward.

Thursday's EGM was a result of a collective decision by more than 50 per cent of the membership to enforce section- 13.5 of the bye-laws of the TTSL which states: "In the case of the absence or inability to act of the president, the first vice-president shall fill the position until the next general meeting, when a replacement will be elected for the remaining period of office. If the office of the vice president, assistant secretary and/or ordinary member of the Board of Management becomes vacant, the Board of Management shall fill the position(s) in question until the next General Meeting when a replacement will be elected for the remaining period of the office."

Section 14.10 also quotes: "If more than 50 per cent of the positions of the Board become vacant, the general secretary shall convene an EGM in order to hold elections for a new term. If the General Secretary is not available or fails to convene the EGM within the prescribed period, the Emergency Committee shall convene it.”

Guardian Media Sports learned that further deliberations became necessary because of differing interpretations of the bye-laws. For instance, members believe that since there were six members on the Board of the TTSL, the resignation of three members or 50 per cent, does not require an EGM for elections, but rather calls for the remaining 50 per cent to take over and manage the affairs of the organisation.

"In this case, the second vice president- Andre Bernard is supposed to step up to fill the roles left by Davis and Dean. This means Bernard is the one to make proposals and call meetings, which include an AGM to elect replacements for the vacant positions," one member explained after the aborted EGM.

"So I will be waiting to see what proposal Bernard will be coming up with and how he intends to lead the super league forward from now on," the member said.

For the EGM, two members were scheduled to face off for the post of president, namely Keiron Edwards, the current president of the Eastern Football Association (EFA) and Jameson Rigues, a former president of the TTSL who was also manager of top club Guaya United.

The position of first vice president was also up for election with only Michael Du Four of Cunupia FC contesting it.

Rigues also told Guardian Media Sports yesterday that a number of other issues contributed to the EGM being aborted at the virtual meeting. "There were issues where members who were not supposed to vote showed up to vote, people in the voting booth and some clubs not being able to vote. The fact that some members were not compliant but showed up to vote was another issue altogether," Rigues said.