Former BVI Premier Andrew Fahie.
Andrew Fahie, while no longer the premier of the British Virgin Islands, is still the duly elected representative for District 1 and is being paid accordingly.
That’s according to Premier Dr. Natalio Wheatley, who confirmed the information in a press conference on Friday after a follow-up question from a local reporter.
"He is still the representative for the 1st District so he would still be paid as representative for the 1st District. Until he is no longer the 1st District representative he will continue to be paid," Mr. Wheatley said.
Fahie is sidelined for the foreseeable future and an at-large representative has been tasked with looking after the needs of the First District. Even so, Mr. Wheatley alluded to a possible resolution to address the issue.
The current 2007 Constitution of the British Virgin Islands holds that an elected representative remains in place unless he or she either resigns in writing, effectively becomes party to a contract with the Government of the Virgin Islands, misses the requisite number of sittings outlined in the Standing Orders of the House of Assembly, or is no longer qualified for elections because of a court-imposed prison sentence exceeding 12 months.
According to section 84.2 of the Standing Orders currently in effect, an elected representative must vacate their seat if they miss three consecutive sittings of the House in any one session. Fahie was arrested at the end of April while the House of Assembly was conducting its second sitting, which began approximately three months ago and concluded on May 5th. The Third Sitting of the Fourth Session of the Fourth House of Assembly began on May 26.
As it stands, it was not immediately clear prior to press time whether Honorable Andrew Fahie, elected representative of District One, would be considered to have missed one or two sittings of the British Virgin Islands House of Assembly.
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