Opposition Senator Wade Mark’s Motion which sought to scrap the current selection process for the appointment of a Commissioner of Police and Deputy Commissioner of Police failed in the Upper House yesterday, as only six Senators voted in its favor, with 21 voting against.

Senator Mark took particular issue with the removal of the seniority requirement for appointment, arguing that this was an effort by government to increase the chances of their own personal pick being selected.

Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar on Tuesday called for the new Police Service Commission to publicly detail its reasons for scrapping the 2021 merit list for the selection of a Police Commissioner.

And, the Commission must also investigate why the previous commission’s merit list was withdrawn last August, according to Persad-Bissessar, who questioned whether the move was a personal vendetta against former Top Cop Gary Griffith, who was named as the first choice.

Last year, the new Commission said in a statement that it had scrapped the old list based on legal advice.