UNC drops all charges against RAMJACK trio

The United National Congress (UNC) has dropped all charges against Deputy Leader Jack Warner, and MPs Ramesh L. Maharaj and Winston "Gypsy" Peters.

The three were facing charges of bringing the party into disrepute. A disciplinary committee was established to consider the charges and report to the party. But the UNC decided on Tuesday evening against pursuing the matter.

In an immediate response, Maharaj welcomed the decision. He said the party had no grounds to uphold the charges, adding that they would not have held up in a court challenge.

The move is an olive branch ahead of Sunday's UNC national congress at which delegates will decide whether to go ahead with a proposal to hold internal elections on January 24, 2010.

If the party had proceeded with the charges, none of the three RAMJACK MPs would have been eligible to contest the internal vote.

So far only one of them - Warner - has expressed an interest in running for the post of chairman. Maharaj has said he might consider a run for the leadership but is cautious because of his past experience of winning control of the national executive only to be treated like a pariah and pushed out of the way.

The strategic move by the UNC means Warner and his colleagues have to decide if they will go ahead with a legal challenge to the congress. Warner had written to the party warning it not to hold any congress or national assembly based on what he said was a bogus list of members.

If he pulls back on that threat and allows the congress to proceed it could mean that he and the RAMJACK group have accepted the legality of the congress and would likely contest the internal election.

That leaves the question about the membership lists unanswered. Also unanswered would be whether the internal election would be free and fair.

But there is another critical issue at stake. Both UNC Leader Basdeo Panday and Warner agree on one issue: unity. And each side has been courting the Congress of the People (COP) which made significant inroads into the UNC heartland in the 2007 general election and might have deprived the UNC alliance of victory.

The UNC has invited COP Leader Winston Dookeran to Sunday's congress. Dookeran has said he is considering whether to attend.

Just two days ago, on Sunday, Dookeran stood with Warner at a Divali function in Felicity and pledged to restart his mission to unite the opposition.

But such unity is conditional on who leads the party. COP has stated over and over again that it won't do business with the UNC if Panday leads the party.

At a congress earlier this year Dookeran invited UNC members to join COP. which he described as the only viable alternative to the governing People's National Movement (PNM).

So far Panday, who took over the leadership of the UNC after Dookeran abdicated and formed COP, has not said if he will run. He has only said that he would run if his constituents ask him to enter the race. And in that case he is willing to take on any challenger.

If this is the first step to a reunited UNC and the start of an open political romance with COP, the most significant question to be decided among the power brokers would be leadership.

Panday remains one of the most powerful political figures in the country and will continue to have a role to play whether he holds a position or not. But the UNC would have to decide who will lead if Panday decides to sit this one out.

Contenders are not going to show their hand until the "CHIEF" makes his move. But if Panday decides not to run there are many who might thrown gather at the starting point.

Roodal Moonilal, Kamla-Persad Bissessar, Tim Gopeesingh, Ramesh L. Maharaj, Vasant Bharath or even rookie MP Mickela Panday might run.

The danger with any internal contest like this is that it could open wounds and create even greater divisions.

The UNC's constitution allows every qualified member a vote, so whoever is running would have to mount a campaign aimed at self promotion at the expense of opponents.