The United Progressive Party (UPP) has vowed to continue its legal challenge against the parliamentary qualification of St. Philip's North representative Randy Baltimore, after the High Court on Thursday denied an injunction that would have prevented him from being sworn in. According to Antigua.news, the matter has been set for an expedited hearing, with the next court date scheduled for April 13 and a full determination expected before April 27.
Attorney and UPP Deputy Political Leader Sherfield Bowen, who represented the party's mobilisation officer George Wehner in the proceedings, stressed that the court's denial of the injunction does not settle the core legal question of whether Baltimore was eligible to contest the March 16 by-election.
"The case against Randy Baltimore is not over, and it is far from a victory," Bowen said. "Some victories come at the end of the battle, some come at the end of the war, so we continue."
The petition centres on whether Baltimore was a public officer at the time of his nomination on February 25. The Constitution of Antigua and Barbuda disqualifies public officers from sitting in Parliament, and Bowen argued that eligibility must be assessed as at nomination day.
Baltimore had submitted a resignation on February 18, stating it was to take effect on February 19 — six days before nominations closed. However, Bowen contended that public service regulations require 90 days' notice for a resignation to be valid.
The Public Service Commission met on March 9, more than two weeks after nomination day, and found that the resignation contained issues. The commission proceeded to terminate Baltimore's services, though the communiqué issued to Wehner's legal team did not specify a retroactive effective date of February 19.
Bowen noted that the February 19 date was first put forward through documents filed by Baltimore's attorneys and sourced from the Establishment Division — a body he drew a sharp distinction from the Public Service Commission. He argued that the commission alone holds constitutional authority to appoint, terminate, or discipline public officers.
"The government body cannot appoint or disappoint any public officer," Bowen said. "The public service commission is the only authority."
That discrepancy in the claimed effective date of termination was central to Thursday's ruling. The court, facing unresolved evidentiary questions, declined to block the swearing-in and directed the matter to proceed to a full hearing.
The Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party (ABLP) welcomed the outcome. ABLP Vice-chairman and attorney Samantha Marshall, who led the legal team representing Baltimore, said the ruling ensures the constituency retains parliamentary representation while the petition is determined.
"I am indeed happy that the Court has looked at the weight of the application and determined that until the matter is finally determined the people of St. Phillip's North must certainly have a voice in the Parliament," Marshall said.
The ABLP noted that Baltimore secured 924 votes — 69.4 percent of ballots cast — against UPP candidate Alex Browne's 407 in the March 16 by-election, which was triggered by the resignation of long-serving MP Sir Robin Yearwood.
The petition will ask the court to find that on February 25, when Baltimore presented himself for nomination, he remained a public servant, given that the Public Service Commission had not met to act on his resignation until March 9.
