A High Court election petition has been filed challenging the validity of Randy Baltimore's victory in the March 16 by-election for St. Philip North. According to Antigua News Room, the petitioner alleges that Baltimore was not legally qualified to contest the seat because he remained a public officer at the time of nomination.
The petition was filed on March 20 by George Wehner, an elector in the constituency. It argues that Baltimore — declared elected with 924 votes to Alex Browne's 407 — was still serving as a Principal Customs Officer on Nomination Day, February 25, and was therefore disqualified from sitting in the House of Representatives under Section 39(1)(g) of the Constitution and Section 10 of the Civil Service Act.
Court documents indicate that Baltimore had purportedly sought to resign from the public service shortly before Nomination Day. However, Wehner contends that no valid resignation was effected in accordance with the procedures governing the civil service.
The petition cites correspondence from the Public Service Commission dated March 19, 2026, which allegedly stated that Baltimore submitted a resignation letter intended to take effect on February 20, 2026. The Commission reportedly found that resignation to be defective, as Civil Service Regulation No. 28(1) requires at least three months' notice of an intention to resign. The same correspondence reportedly stated that Baltimore's employment was instead terminated on March 9, 2026.
Wehner argues that because Baltimore was allegedly still a public officer on Nomination Day, he was not qualified to be nominated as a candidate, his name was unlawfully placed on the ballot, and he was incapable of being validly elected. The petition further claims that Baltimore's participation as a disqualified candidate materially affected the outcome of the election and rendered the declared result unlawful.
In terms of relief, the petitioner is asking the court to declare Baltimore ineligible and his return void in its entirety. The filing also seeks a declaration that every vote cast for Baltimore be treated as a "thrown away vote" and requests that the candidate with the greater number of valid votes be awarded the seat.
Additionally, the petition requests interlocutory orders to restrain Baltimore from taking the oath of office pending the outcome of the matter.
A separate notice of application filed the same day seeks to subpoena Chief Establishment Officer Francia Sheppard to provide sworn evidence and produce records relating to whether Baltimore submitted a resignation from the public service, whether any such resignation was received and processed, whether it was submitted to or approved by the Public Service Commission, and what his employment status was at all material times, including both Nomination Day and Election Day.
The application states that Sheppard, as Chief Establishment Officer, is the custodian of the relevant records and is uniquely positioned to provide direct evidence on whether any resignation was properly received, processed, and approved.
The matter is expected to turn on whether Baltimore lawfully ceased to be a public officer before he was nominated to contest the St. Philip North by-election.
