Interim leader of the Alternative People’s Party (APP) Tahira Blanchard says that party strategist Alex Bruno wanted to have “total control of the party” as a founding member and they were forced to take action to stop that.
Speaking to Talk Show Host Matt Peltier on his popular morning show of “Matt in the Morning” Blanchard explained that the Constitution of the APP states that the Congress hires the executive, the executive hires the strategist and the strategist reports to the executive and not the other way around.
However, according to her, they expected Bruno to “welcome these changes” but in fact, they experienced “a lot of resistance from him”.
“He wanted to basically have total control of our party in a dictatorial style and that is what the executive objected to and hence the genesis of the problem,” she said. As a result, she stated that the party had “no objections when Bruno decided to “distance himself as party strategist, executive member or holding any sensitive leadership position within the party.”
She started that as a young political party they were able to take the necessary decisions to eradicate any glimpses or resemblance of any type of dictatorship and to ensure that they always maintain the party’s principle of “transparency, honesty, and integrity.”
Blanchard also revealed that a draft Constitution which was solely orchestrated by Bruno was given to the party for certification and was signed by “two members” but upon review and herself, and other members realized that it was much too complex for Dominica and needed simplification.”
“Most importantly, this Constitution that was prepared by Mr. Bruno would have allowed for a dictatorship type of operation, therefore, this draft Constitution was edited and ratified by the Executive Council and brought in and accepted by the Electoral Office,” she said.
Meantime, in a letter dated October 13, 2021, addressed to party President Julius Corbette and copied to other members of the executive Bruno stays that “this is the end of a journey for me. I never envisaged this, and it feels like bad dream…nothing could have prepared me for this.”
“For those who believe that I was aware that had previously resigned my position from the APP, you were wrong, I did not know that had resigned, I never resigned and never hinted that I wanted to resign and I certainly had no amicable arrangement and or hostile fallout with the Executive of our party which necessitated an invisible letter of resignation from me. If I had a choice, I would never depart from the APP family now, I would certainly wish to assist with preparations for the next general elections.”
He stated that he was caught “unaware of the announcement of an agreed termination.”
“It is with great sadness that I tender my resignation to the APP…I have done nothing that I know would necessitate this resignation, but I offer it anyway with the hope that the party’s mission is fulfilled.”
See attached letter.
https://natureisle.news/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/IMG-20211013-WA0028-1.pdf
https://natureisle.news/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/IMG-20211013-WA0029.pdf