A political scientist said the “timing was bad” after the Progressive Labour Party decided to bring in changes this week that could affect new members.

Phil Perinchief, who served as the island’s top lawyer between 2006 and 2007 under a PLP government, added that while new party members had a right to take legal action if they felt aggrieved, such moves could “tie up the electoral process unnecessarily”.

His comments came after members raised concerns this week after the party made several changes at a central committee meeting on Monday night.

During the meeting, first reported by TNN, it was said that a motion was proposed that people must have been party members for at least a year before being eligible to serve as delegates in the party’s October leadership election.

Another proposal, put forward at the meeting by David Burt, the PLP leader and Premier, said that people who publicly campaigned against the party in the past two general elections should be prevented from automatically joining.

Mr Perinchief said yesterday: “If the party is trying to get new members, it almost looks like you’re telling the new members to join under false pretence.

“It was an unnecessary intrusion in the process — it gives rise for very negative speculations to come forward.”

Mr Perinchief pointed to Article IV of the PLP’s constitution which states: “General membership of the party shall be open to all persons 18 years of age and over.”

He said the party had never made such moves in the past and should be consistent in enforcing the rules governing its membership.

The constitutional lawyer added that changes to the party’s rules were governed by Article X of its constitution, which stated that established rules could be amended at the party’s annual general conference or special delegates conference.

The article makes provisions for the changes to be resolved by the party’s central committee.

However, Mr Perinchief said that although the body had been delegated the duty, “it has to go through a process”.

He said changes made on Monday night suggested the committee “would have a very difficult time getting around the fact that they acted unconstitutionally”.

Mr Perinchief spoke of the rights of new members, some of whom might wish to be delegates.

He said: “If new members might be part of a branch and went on to become delegates, they may feel they have a right to become that delegate.

“They may view it now, with the changes, as if that right has been breached.”

“People can change their minds — they have a right, they have freedom of thought.”

He said the changes could lead to a “two-tier” membership scenario in which “one may question how the other became a member while the other did not”.

Mr Perinchief said the PLP’s central committee could reverse the decision if “good reasons” were provided.

But he added that if the body did not introduce a motion to rescind the changes, “they will try to enforce it”.

On the legal side, he said those affected could take the matter to the court.

However, Mr Perinchief noted that an injunction could lead to delays in the electoral process.

He said: “A judicial review may be available to aggrieved parties who felt targeted.

“If it is a significant number of them, they have that option. But, like I said, it could delay the process.”

Jason Hayward, the Minister of Economy and Labour, is expected to face Curtis Dickinson, a former finance minister, when they vie for party leadership at the annual general conference in October.

The victor will succeed Mr Burt as PLP leader and, in turn, most likely as the premier.

Both candidates and their campaign teams have been signing up new members ahead of an August 31 deadline.

The Royal Gazette has sought clarity and comment from the PLP through its public relations team.