NOMINATED member of the TT Cricket Board (TTCB) Zaheer Ali is urging the executive to immediately hold elections.
In a statement, Ali also called on the Minister of Sport to hold discussions with sporting organisations to pilot a policy paper for effective alternative dispute resolution methods.
Ali was offering suggestions to treat with disputes in light of Monday’s ruling by the high court in the lawsuit between the National League representatives and the TTCB over the voting provisions of the cricketing body’s constitution.
Justice Jacqueline Wilson, in her ruling, said the voting provisions of the TTCB's constitution was not unfair.
Ali said Wilson’s ruling assisted in projecting a deeper understanding of the TTCB’s legal framework and interpretation of its role and functions for the benefit of everyone involved in the administration of cricket locally.
“I urge the TTCB Executive to take immediate actions to convene the TTCB election...in keeping with the TTCB constitution and to promote good administration. I also encourage all parties to exercise mature thinking and place the interest of the TT Cricket Board before any individual or group in moving forward,” Ali urged.
Wilson, in a written decision, dismissed the league’s claim, saying their dissatisfaction with TTCB’s electoral process did not justify her intervention.
“The court must not allow itself to become an umpire to resolve a controversy in which TTCB and its members may be embroiled,” she said.
In her 15-page decision, the judge said it was for the TTCB to decide what rules it considered to be in the best interest of its members and the sport in general, adding there was nothing to suggest they were unfair or deviated from established principles of democracy or public policy.
The TTCB has not had an executive election after the October 29 election of that year was postponed.
The league had argued that the voting process, which allowed for outgoing members to have a vote, was “undemocratic, bias, and irrational.”
In particular, league representatives Dinanath Ramnarine, Daren Ganga and four of their cricketing colleagues have complained of a rule which gives the executive of the TTCB 12 outgoing votes.
Under the local cricketing body’s rules, nominated members elected by the board are allowed six votes, with the outgoing members of the board, some of whom may be facing re-election, being afforded six votes.
Wilson, however, said there was nothing to support the league’s argument that the 12 votes out of a majority of 49 were assured to the TTCB’s outgoing officers and constituted an unfair advantage that yielded an unjust result.
She said the TTCB was the authority responsible for advancing and promoting the welfare of cricket in TT, and was given a wide discretion by Parliament to manage its own procedures and amend its rules to address the changing needs of its membership and the sport in general.
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