by WADE GIBBONS

GOVERNMENT SENATOR SANDRA HUSBANDS will not be stepping aside to make the nomination process in St Michael Central a "walkover" for Senator Rudy Grant.

In fact, she told the DAILY NATION yesterday though she could appreciate the decision of the director of the Barbados Youth Service, Hally Haynes, to step aside to accommodate Grant, Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism and International Transport, she had what it took to offer constituents the type of representation that focused on their upliftment.

"The Barbados Labour Party [BLP] has a history of using a democratic process to allow constituencies to choose their representatives and I think that is very important," she said.

Husbands disagreed with sentiments expressed by Haynes that three people seeking the nomination might result in a divide among branch members, and have severe implications for the BLP at the next general election.

"I do not see multiple candidates as divisive. People get upset if they think the process is unfair or they will get upset if they think the choice is being taken from them . . . . It is not as though any of us has had a long history with the branch. So there is going to be a winner and a loser, but the branch is not going to be upset over that," she said.

Husbands' comments came in the wake of reports from informed sources that she, Haynes and Grant were summoned to a high-level strategy meeting where she and Haynes were asked by the top brass of the party to pull out of the nomination process to accommodate Grant.

However, yesterday Husbands suggested she had the blessing of Prime Minister Owen Arthur to seek the nomination.

"The Prime Minister told me: 'Sandra, as long as you have the support of the branch, go ahead with your nomination.' So he is committed to that process – to allow us to go through and allow people to pick and choose," she said.

For someone to drop out of a close race, she added, was to take away the choice from the people "because you may have been the person they would have chosen".

Meanwhile, Government Senator Andrew Bynoe yesterday sought to dispel reports that he too would be seeking the nomination.

He told the DAILY NATION though he had no interest, he wanted the best for the constituency since it was where he had his roots.

Bynoe said he would be lending his support to whoever had the capacity to bring the best representation to the constituents.

His name was linked to the constituency after the nomination process to select a candidate from either Grant, Husbands or Haynes was twice postponed.

The last postponement in April was reportedly to facilitate the paying of tributes by colleagues to outgoing representative and Speaker of the House of Assembly, Ishmael Roett.

Prime Minister Owen Arthur was absent from that meeting.

* wadegibbons@nationnews.com