Duane O'Connor gets into Calypso Monarch finals

Julien Neaves

A HIGH COURT judge late this evening ordered the Trinbago Unified Calypsonians’ Organisation (TUCO) to include calypsonian Duane O’Connor in last night’s Calypso Monarch finals at the Dimanche Gras competition.

O’Connor will sing in position 17.

In an eleventh-hour application, hours before the show, O’Connor sought an emergency injunction to prevent TUCO from denying him the right to participate in the show.

He asked that he be allowed to participate in the finals.

Hearing the application was Justice Ricky Rahim in the Port of Spain High Court. The judge’s ruling was delivered just before 6 pm.

As he was leaving the Hall of Justice to go to the Queen's Park Savannah, O'Connor said he was pleased with the judge's decision.

"I just feel great. I feel elated. I want to thank God, because nothing would have happened without God first." He also thanked his family."It has been a hard week and I have had no sleep for the last two nights."

O'Connor, a diabetic, said he ate nothing yesterday but was confident of his chances on the big stage, admitting also that he had not rehearsed with the band. "But it is the same band from the Fiest."

"We tried our best with TUCO. We pleaded with TUCO. We begged TUCO."

According to O’Connor’s lawsuit, he performed at the semi-final round of the competition at Skinner Park, San Fernando, at the Calypso Fiesta competition on February 3, in the 37th position with his piece “No Front Page.”

He said when the results were released, his name was not there and he requested the judges’ summary score sheet.

According to O’Connor, score sheet revealed his score was changed by judge Garrick Riley, from 28 points to 25 points in the melody category.

“There was absolutely no reason advanced for the change and no explanation given,” the lawsuit said.

O’Connor said if not for the reduction in points, he would have made it to the finals with 416 points which would have put him in the same position with Myron B, Joanne Rowley, Helon Francis, Selvon Noel and Rondell Donowa.

O’Connor, who was represented by attorney Rekha Ramjit, said he was dissatisfied with what took place and approached the Adjudication Review Committee, which dismissed his arguments.

The committee said that while there was no express rule for scratches or changes to scores by judges, Riley had initialled the scratched mark and acknowledged his error.

He is alleging that TUCO breached its contract with him by failing to follow its own rules by calling on the judge to account for his actions.