In denying that there was political interference in the decision taken by the Governor-General not to renew the contracts of seven out of 15 constituency election officials, Grenada’s Minister for Health, Social Security and International Business Nicholas Steele claimed that an age of 70 was sufficient justification for the decision. Some of the registration officers are said to be in their 70s while one is in his 80s. Minister Steele says there were yet others who no longer lived in the constituency in which they were Registration Officers. He maintains there is nothing sinister about the decision. “I think that based on the first report that I have received that the Governor-General had good reasons. I think that if a person is 70 years old, that would be a good reason,” Steele said, apparently oblivious to the fact that his own leader, Prime Minister Dr. Keith Mitchell, will be 71 this year. During the government’s weekly post-cabinet briefing on Tuesday, Steele said the Governor-General acted in her own deliberate judgment and it is not the government’s place to question that decision. Chapter 268A of the Representation of the People’s Act, section 29, which deals with registration officers, assistant registration officers and returning officers, states that the Governor-General, acting in his or her own deliberate judgment, shall appoint fit and proper persons for each constituency. “The timing of it is up to the Governor-General, whether she chooses to keep someone post-retirement age, after the age of 70, it’s up to the Governor-General,” Steele noted. The law dictates that,” Minister Steele added. Apart from new U.S. President Donald Trump, who also turns 71 this year, so does the prime minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Dr .Ralph Gonsalves, while the prime minister of The Bahamas, Perry Christie, is 73. Source: Caribbean News Now