A former member of the United National Congress (UNC) is launching a campaign aimed at finding a person who can unite opposition forces against the governing People's National Movement (PNM).But unlike the conventional approach of creating a new political movement and campaigning to lead it, Gavin Nicholas is attempting to poll every person whose name is on the national list of eligible voters.
Nicholas, who started his political career as a PNM councillor, has become disenchanted with the state of affairs and the way political movements traditionally operate. He leads a group called the Movement for National Development (MND).
Nicholas wants to hold a national referendum on the issue of opposition leadership based on the premise that “the voice of the people is the voice of God.”
He has the support of YesTT leader, Stephen Cadiz, who recently informed the UNC Alliance that he is taking a "sabbatical" from active politics to focus on his agenda of educating the masses about critical issues, including politics.
Read the story: Cadiz takes a "sabbatical" from UNC-A
Nicholas is also seeking support from individuals and the business community to raise funds for this ambitious project that is estimated to cost more than $3 million.
He has started writing to individuals and the business community, in particular the Chambers of Commerce and the Trinidad and Tobago Manufacturers’ Association, seeking financial support.
Nicholas is talking with UNC-A and COP officials about the idea and is encouraged by the feedback. He is worried that the PNM might try to "hijack the referendum” but he believes citizens are mature enough to deal with it.
He has proposed that each political party or group opposed to the PNM submit the name of an opposition leader to be placed on a ballot paper.
Each eligible elector would receive by mail a ballot with all the names and be asked to choose a leader and return the ballot to the MND. Nicholas plans to use the current voters' list, which comprises more than one million names.
No such experiment in democracy has ever been attempted and there is no constitutional basis for it.
One apparent flaw in the system is that there is no mechanism to determine that each ballot is in fact the opinion of the individual, since it is not a secret ballot marked in an environment of an election or referendum.
Also, given the kind of political apathy shown in successive elections and the obligation of electors to return the ballots, a low response is almost a certainty.
The other significant hurdle is whether any of the existing political movements would accept this form of participatory democracy.
Electing a leader is such a situation would present another political and democratic challenge.
In the conventional sense, a party presents a platform based on its philosophy and ideas for governing. Those who share that vision present them to their supporters and others and campaign for leadership. A leader emerges who best suits the overall vision and mission of the political movement.
In this case no such common platform exists or has been drawn up. And there is a diversity of opinion on what is the best approach for governance and for dealing with the national problems facing the country. Parties like the UNC, for example, cannot even agree on who will lead. And the Congress of the People (COP) has its own agenda that is not in synch with that of the other parties.
In its present form, the idea that Nicholas is proposing appears to be just one component of a formula that could be developed for removing the PNM from office. But it is not presenting any clear picture of what movement this new leader would lead. Rather than solve a problem, it risks creating a bigger one.
This could very well be a case of throwing out the old bucket without checking to see if the new one can hold water.
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