Eldon Arzu: Ex-Police Association prez challenges election results in court

By Aaron Humes: Deposed from the role he held for many years, Corporal of Police Eldon Arzu appears not yet ready to let go.

Commissioner of Police Chester Williams confirmed he had been served with notice of application for judicial review to challenge the result of last week’s election of the Police Association.

The Commissioner says he does not expect the application to succeed: “I guess it is just the way he is. He is never going to stop. He even wants to set aside the will of the majority of the officers who voted in that election including [him], because he voted too. But as is normal, we will defend the application. We believe that the election process was legal and his application will have no basis in law. But it is his right to challenge whatever. Anybody can challenge whatever before the court. The question is what the outcome is going to be. And so, we will be moving forward with what the lower ranks of the department have determined. They overwhelmingly elected the slate which was led by Sergeant [of Police Jermaine] Hyde and [Sergeant of Police] Jane Usher over that of Mr. Arzu’s slate. That is the will of the officers and we must respect that.”

The Commissioner added that the election was specifically endorsed by Arzu and his attorney the day before and pointed out: “Why will it be now that after the elections he lost that he is going to want to challenge the process. If he were victorious, I am sure he would not challenge the process.”

Corporal Arzu now says that the process is illegal and that his slate for the Association was expected to be endorsed from last November. The Commissioner said that “we live in a democracy” and that not even the major political parties can force the Governor-General to appoint them to Government (though it is possible under the Representation of the People Act if all parties other than one decide to withdraw from the electoral process).

The Usher/Hyde slate was sworn in on Monday at the Training Academy in Belmopan by the Commander of Welfare and Sports, Superintendent Calvert Flowers.

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