Renowned educator and scientist, Dr Dennis Minott has filed an appeal against a rejection of his application to contest the Portland East constituency for the governing People’s National Party (PNP) at the next general elections.

Minott filed his appeal on eight grounds, among them that two members of the party’s Appraisal Committee should have recused themselves from the decision, given their previous unfavourable encounters with him.

Dr Minott and Andrea Moore had applied to represent the constituency, a move that would force a delegates’ selection between them and the incumbent member of parliament Dr Lynvale Bloomfield.

The PNP has said that Dr Minott’s application was not approved and that Moore would face Dr Bloomfield in a selection battle.

But late last week, Dr Minott wrote to Morais Guy, who chair’s the PNP’s Region Two, setting out his reasons for the appeal and pointing out that he has not been given a reason for the decision.

“Of the committee’s six members, two vocal, voting members of that panel have previously had relationships with me which were not the smoothest. One as the (previous) minister of government with whom I have had the most frequent, public and sometimes contentious disagreements about education reform and high school performance measurements by A-QuEST, which I lead. And one as my former student who exited A-QuEST’s college coaching programme in an unusual and untidy way,” Minott said.

He said that both members of the panel did not recuse themselves from his appraisal and, before the arrival of the committee chairman, Seivright Dixon, the meeting was being chaired by one of the two members in question.

“At no time in my presence did either of the said two panel members inform the rest of the committee of their prior private or public transactions and interactions with me,” Minott outlined in his appeal.

He also said that at the very least the other members of the panel should have been made aware of the potential for a conflict of interest by both members.

Minott argued that he had “no confidence that they exercised independence of thinking or judgement during the appraisal exercise”

He added: “Approximately 20 per cent of the interview time was devoted to detailed questions on party constitution, party founders, party history, constituency voting history and the party group functions. Yet, I was ostensibly invited by the party for an appraisal of my capacity to appropriately represent my fellow constituents in Parliament under the banner of our party whose ideology and philosophy I manifestly understand and uphold.

“I do ask that the decision of the Appraisal Committee be promptly set aside in response to this appeal and that you use your good offices to secure me a fair hearing,” Minott said.