As Rodney Smith's disenchantment with the Progressive Labour Party's (PLP) candidate selection procedures continues to make the rounds, party spokesman Glenn Blakeney yesterday said Mr. Smith's argument had left him "a little befuddled" and suggested that he had ulterior motives.

Meanwhile, The Royal Gazette has learned that Mr. Smith received just one vote out of 55 when the Pembroke branch met to decide which of the five interested candidates would represent the PLP in the upcoming Pembroke East Central by-election. And only a few months ago he was vying to be a candidate for the United Bermuda Party (UBP).

Some weeks ago Mr. Smith had expressed interest in being the PLP's candidate for the upcoming Pembroke East Central by-election. As he had planned to be off the Island, his submission was read out at a branch meeting last Thursday to determine who would be recommended as the party's candidate.

As far as Mr. Smith is concerned, a vote should have taken place that night. But the branch executive decided to have the vote on the Saturday and give supporters until Friday afternoon to update their membership of the party - a decision, says Mr. Smith, which effectively made the process a primary and "brought about a different result".

The change was not advertised sufficiently and it would have been fairer to all the candidates for the vote to have taken place, as expected, on the Thursday, he argued.

"If anyone had prior knowledge they could have informed their supporters to become financial and shore up their base. The PLP has never used a primary format so having instituted a primary format they then don't give people time to participate. It would have been fairer for everyone if whoever had come out would have voted there and then," he said.

"My question is when did the format change?" And as a primary, only the constituents should have been allowed to vote, not the entire branch membership.

"It was not a primary," Mr. Blakeney told this newspaper. "The executive of the branch have the prerogative to decide on a fair and equitable process. It's a relatively flexible process and has been. And it's always adhering to democratic principle whatever the process is. And all the players are privy to the process when that process is decided upon."

The entire branch is involved in the candidate selection process, regardless of the constituency directly involved, he said.

"The candidates committee, while taking into consideration the recommendation of the branch is ultimately responsible for vetting candidates and making their recommendation for selection. So it's in no way a primary because in a primary the results stand... in this process various methods can be used to gauge the suitability of interested persons. In the event there are a number who are interested and equally qualified, then the branch upon a measure of consensus make their decision and their recommendation."

Mr. Blakeney questioned Mr. Smith's motives in going public with his concerns, saying that they could have been aired within the party first. Mr. Smith's "rhetorical innuendo" was aimed at "destroying the integrity" of the Pembroke branch, he said.

"Mr Smith is the only one to have expressed concern about the process. It was a fair and open process that allowed the members of Pembroke an opportunity to speak to their sentiments," Mr. Blakeney insisted. "There was a mechanism to measure consensus within the branch which I am sure the executives considered appropriately in making a recommendation to the candidates committee so as opposed to being exclusive, it was inclusive."

Party sources say that Mr. Smith's bid for the nomination only garnered one vote out of a total of 55. And Rolfe Commissiong, a Devonshire resident who also made a pitch and was present at both meetings, did not get a single vote.

The branch eventually decided to recommend both Sen. Calvin Smith and journalist Ashfield DeVent, who received an equal number of votes, to the candidate selection committee which will make a recommendation to the Central Committee of the party.

There is no requirement to accept a branch's recommendation although in practice the party hierarchy normally rubberstamps it.

And the decision did raise the question as to why the branch did not have another vote on the top two candidates, said Mr. Smith.

Mr. Smith denies having any ulterior motives.

United Bermuda Party (UBP) insiders told The Royal Gazette that Mr. Smith, who had been a member of their party in the early 1990s, had approached them about being the UBP's candidate for the Pembroke West by-election which took place in February. Mr. Smith would not directly confirm or deny that, when asked.

"I accept that all political parties are always looking for eligible candidates and from time to time people from the governing party are solicited. It's a compliment. Most politicians are friends with the Opposition," he said. Mr. Blakeney denied the suggestion made by others within the party that naming two candidates was an unprecedented move. "We have had several elections over the years and there have been on occasion more than one person interested in contesting the seat," he said.

Sen. Calvin Smith told this newspaper earlier this week that there ought to be a standardised procedure.

"From my personal point of view I think that, with the upcoming election and single seats, some thought should be given to a standardised procedure," he said.

He did not object to the branch's decision to send two names to the selection committee, or demand a run-off vote, he said.